International Film Festival for Mountains in Bansko is the largest event of this kind in Bulgaria. This year, the 15th edition of the festival was held. The award for the film about mountains, adventure and exploration went to "Jurek" by Paweł Wysoczański, whereas the Honourable Special Mention went to the film "K2. Touching the Sky" by Eliza Kubarska.
"Jurek" tells the story of Jerzy Kukuczka, who died on 24 October 1989 during the Lhotse expedition. It was the first time when we went to the Himalayas with money, equipment, and as a really famous person. The documentary by Paweł Wysoczański does not, however, concentrate on the mystery of the Himalayan mountaineer's death. It shows a person who climbs up, higher and higher – literally, but also metaphorically and symbolically. From a bootblack to a millionaire, from a socialist worker to an international media star, from the man who climbs without any money and equipment to the real competitor of Reinhold Messner in the competition to climb the Crown of the Himalayas and the Karakoram. Interviews with family and friends, archive materials, photographs, recordings, excerpts from television programmes and interviews make up the portrait of the Himalayan mountaineers in 1980s. It is also the image of the times in which they lived – hard and colourful at the same time, when idealism was more valued than fame.
The film "K2. Touching the Sky" by Eliza Kubarska shows four people, who climb up to the base on K2. They go by the same road which was taken years ago by their parents – recognised Alpinists. They try to understand the power which ordered their parents to climb and which finally took their lives in 1986 in the K2 disaster. "K2. Touching the Sky" is an emotional journey with breathtaking views of Karakoram in the background.
The full list of award-winning films is on the Festival's website.