On December 28 and 29, the Gran Paradiso Film Festival will propose their last film, focused on the life of an ibex, symbol of the Park and of the Gran Paradiso. A fascinating story full of exciting images that reveals the identity of these places. The film will be available on the website www.gpff.it from December 28 at 8 PM for 30 hours.

Anne and Erik Lapied: 42 years of career together, an entire life dedicated to nature and 45 films on mountain – many of which shot in the Gran Paradiso. They chose the Valsavarenche and in particular the small village of Tignet, as privilege place to create their works. Through their films, the Gran Paradiso valleys unveiled their exceptional biodiversity and richness of environments and species.

A special video interview made in Valsavarenche where Luisa Vuillermoz, Artistic Director of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival meets Anne and Erik Lapied, will be available online from December 21 at 8 PM on the website www.gpff.it.

The ceremony brought the Festival to a close; this was a special, remarkable edition, with a sold out at every event and a jury composed by 869 registered members. In the complex context of the pandemic, this year’s edition is a challenge that Fondation Grand Paradis appears to have won.

“This year’s innovative formula, partly imposed by the health emergency, has stimulated our creativity – said Luisa Vuillermoz, Artistic Director of the Festival. It has prompted us to identify new narrative forms by experimenting with solutions that could become a feature of future editions. Thanks to the online events we have been able to bring Nature – which the Festival celebrates – not only to the Gran Paradiso area but to the wider world”. Ms Vuillermoz added: “As a symbol of this year’s edition we have chosen the mosaic image of an ibex eye composed by nature images. This has a strong metaphorical value: it represents our collective commitment against the pandemic and in favour of sustainability. Both challenges cannot be successfully addressed individually; they can only be tackled by working together”.

The award ceremony included a video interview with this year’s special guest, Enrico Giovannini, spokesman and co-founder of ASviS – the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development – who shared his views on the Festival’s theme, “New paths in the post-Covid 19 era – the challenge of sustainability”. On the topic of the Alliance’s commitment to the objectives laid out in the 2030 Agenda – which spells out the goals set by the heads of state and government to achieve sustainable development – Professor Giovannini said: “We are not respecting the principle of intergenerational equity. Our response to the current crisis may tip things in favour of those who are already in a position of power, rather than empowering the new European generations, as the EU encourages to do. We propose to change the Constitution by introducing the principle of intergenerational equity. This is a preoccupation that our forefathers did not take into account when drafting the Constitution, in the aftermath of World War II, because that was a time when economic growth seemed limitless. The general impression was that the younger generations would automatically be better off than the previous ones”.

In addition to the prizes awarded by the audience, the technical jury awarded the Automous Region Region of Aosta Valley Award, worth 1000 euros, to “The elephant queen” by Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone. The Gran Paradiso National Park Award, worth 500 euros, went to the short film “Plastic River” by Manuel Camia.

Additional information about the awards, the motivations and the full video recording of the event are available on www.gpff.it.

Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, the Gran Paradiso Film Festival and the Festival International Nature Namur have worked to offer to the audience extraordinary images of nature. In a such delicate moment, these two important international Film Festivals of nature cinema have been able to adapt themselves and transform criticality and uncertainties into opportunities for growth and renewal.

The 23^rd Gran Paradiso Film Festival with its theme: “New paths in the post-Covid19 era-the challenge of sustainability” recovers in this edition space and time, embracing the entire summer season, involving the whole territory of the Gran Paradiso and opening up for the first time to the whole world on the web, with outdoor and streaming events and online movies.

The 26^th Festival International Nature Namur will express its support to photographers and naturalist directors that could present their works through FINN. Main events, that will take place from 9 to 18 October, will be held at the Citadelle of Namur which will host photographic exhibitions, animations for schools and screenings of films in competition, offering a real place of exchange and sharing between the public and the professionals of nature cinema.

The Artistic Director of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival, Luisa Vuillermoz, will be member of the technical jury of this edition that will award the “Grand Prix” to the best film in competition and other prizes in the category of professional directors.

Both Festivals have adapted the format and programmed the events to ensure the safety of the audience.

The Award Ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 22 at the Villaggio Minatori of Cogne.  The “Stambecco d’Oro” Trophy, the “Cortonatura” Prize and other awards will be assigned to the best films in competition.  The event will open with a tribute to master Morricone by the SFOM of Aosta and will continue with a teleconference interview with Prof. Enrico Giovannini, co-founder and spokesman of Asvis (Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development) on the theme “New paths in the post-covid19 era – the challenge of sustainability”. The entire event will be streamed on the festival website www.gpff.it.

Friday, August 21 at 17.00, at the Villaggio Minatori of Cogne, the six short films n of the Cortonatura session will be screened and the exhibition “Il Pianto della Terra (The cry of the Earth)” will be inaugurated by the artist Barbara Tutino, that will personally accompany the audience to discover her works.

Last Festival week will start at Maison Pellissier in Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, on Tuesday, August 18 at 21.00, with the screening of the film event “The Elephant Queen” by Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble, in collaboration with Apple TV. In the afternoon the short-films competition “Cortonatura” will be held, accompanied by three exhibitions dedicated to mountains:

Gran Paradiso VR – The experience of Nature, the new virtual installation that simulate the ascent to the top of Mt. Gran Paradiso enjoying a 360º panorama; the “Chamois of the ice” that will tell the mysteries of a recent discovery of a chamois mummy on the Tsissetta glacier (Cogne valley) and the “Animated Stones” by the artist Arianna Bernini who, with an exhibition and a live painting session will fascinate the audience.

The installation, featured in the “GPFF on Show” section of the 23rd Gran Paradiso Film Festival, allows everyone to experience first-hand the climb from the regular trail to the Gran Paradiso massif, which from Valsavarenche leads to the top of the only 4000 metre peak lying entirely within Italian territory. You can take in the views thanks to the 360° images, experience the emotion of carrying out such an interesting and complete ascent, passing through woodland, across pastures, moraines and the glacier, as well as traversing the mountain cleft that leads to the famous statue of Madonna at the summit.

Every summer “Gran Paradiso VR”, which is a mobile installation, will be housed in a different valley of the protected area. The installation was made entirely with European funds and, since the lockdown, it has been adapted to comply with the anti-covid regulations. “Gran Paradiso VR” integrates features of virtual reality, 360° imaging and sensors that detect your hand movements, allowing for contactless interaction with the video.