GPFF – Gran Paradiso Film Festival

“My Octopus Teacher” wins the 24th Stambecco d’Oro Award. The Gran Paradiso Film Festival draws to a close in Cogne with an accolade for the Oscar-winning documentary film

GPFF — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 13:53:34 +0000

“My Octopus Teacher” by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed is the winner of the 24th Stambecco d’Oro Award, worth €3000, awarded by the Gran Paradiso Film Festival Jury. The film was selected to take part in the Festival in November 2020; it was subsequently nominated for and ended up winning the 2021 Academy Award for Best Documentary. “My Octopus Teacher” captivated viewers with the touching, incredible story of a rare friendship between a man and an octopus. Director Pippa Ehrlich said: “On behalf of the team behind My Octopus Teacher, it is an enormous honour to receive this award- particularly from an environmental festival like Gran Paradiso. I wish I could have been there in person, but current global challenges made that impossible- another reminder of how fragile we are on this miraculous planet. I learned many things from the octopus teacher, but perhaps most relevant now is that everything on Earth is connected, whether you are in mountains in Italy, a wetland in Botswana or a kelp forest at the tip of Africa and every one of us has a role to play in creating a liveable future for human beings and all of the creatures we share this place with – including octopuses”.

The ceremony brought the 24th edition of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival to a close. This was a particularly vibrantedition: over 18,000 spectators across the venues and online, 18-day programming, 80 screenings in theatres, 150 hours of streaming, 10 national and international high-profile guests hosted during the De Rerum Natura conference series,571 people registered to take part in the Festival Jury.

“It has been an extensive, particularly meaningful edition,” said the Festival’s Artistic Director Luisa Vuillermoz; “after a difficult year and a half, the Festival is back as a space where people can enjoy the pleasure of sharing and discussing today’s topical issues. There is no vaccine to stop the current ecological and climate crisis. Yet a collective effort can still change things; the example provided by directors who, with their talent and commitment, contribute to raise awareness for wildlife protection is inspiring. Like Pippa Ehrlich with her film, My octopus Teacher.

The GPFF is a unique vantage point on the natural world, but it can also be a platform to defend it!”

Corrado Jordan, the President of Fondation Grand Paradis, said: “Th GPFF films leave us with a sense of wonder for the natural world – for ecosystems near and far. Nature is amazing yet fragile. The tipping point is never too far. We have a responsibility to take action to preserve it. Each of us can and must do something about it.”

In the feature film category the Technical Jury awarded “On thin ice”, by Henry M. Mix and Boas Schwarz, with the following motivation: “An extreme environment depicted with such technical skill as to make a complex, controversial topic utterly clear. It is a challenge to humanity’s survival. This is not fiction; filming was carried out ethically, and the result is raw, unsparing images that shake our conscience. It is a wake-up call for humanity”.

The Short Film Award went to “Stories of you and I”, with the following motivation shared by the Technical Jury: “a dramatic crescendo of ideas and emotions, masterfully narrated by a talented, renowned actor. Viewers are drawn into understanding the meaning of the journey as it unfolds, until they are overwhelmed by the force of the revelation: humankind is unable to understand the world in which it lives. Humans are lost in the daily business of life, trapped between their ignorance and indifference”.

The Gran Paradiso National Park Special Mention went to “Okavango”, by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, described as “askilfully narrated plot, with spectacular, poetic images that succeed in transforming the stories of individual species intoan allegory of the resilience of ecosystems threatened by desertification”.

The Youth Audience (for under-14’s) awarded the “Stambecco d’Oro Junior” Award to “Planète Méditerranée” by Gil Gébaïli – the story of an outstanding diving challenge deep into the waters of the Mediterranean. Lorenzo Riboni won the “CortoNatura” category competition with “La danza tra terra e cielo”. “The Frozen Kingdom of the Snow Leopard” by Frédéric Larrey won the “GPFF online” category: it was the most voted by the Festival’s online audience.

Registrations to the public jury of the 24th Gran Paradiso Film Festival are open

GPFF — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 11:48:50 +0000

The 24th Gran Paradiso Film Festival will start on July the 26th and is now possible to sign up for the events and to become a member of the public jury.

Registrations to the public jury will be open until August the 5th: jurors above 14 will assign the “Stambecco d’oro” to the best film, while the younger nature and cinema-passionates will assign the “Stambecco d’oro Junior“. Short movies directors will instead compete for the “Premio CortoNatura“. Moreover, all the films participating in the web section of the festival will compete for the “Premio GPFF online“.

The first 50 jurors to watch and vote on all the films will receive a Lowe Alpine mountain backpack, while jurors from the 51st to the 150th will receive a Montura t-shirt with the “GPFF” logo. Every juoror, moreover, will receive a “Fondation Grand Paradis Pass” which allows visiting all the cultural and naturalistic sites managed by Fondation Grand Paradis for free.

To sign up to the public jury you need to fill in and send the registration form that you can find here.

Fondation Grand Paradis and the tourism management solutions in the Covid-19 era

GPFF — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 11:47:41 +0000

Further to the approval of the 2021-2023 three-year plan, Fondation Grand Paradis is now working to implement different solutions, already tested in 2020, to ensure a renewed tourist offer despite the pandemic.
Visitors welcomed these innovative proposals, as shown by 2020 site attendance, registering 23,144 people, despite a reduced number of admissions and an accommodation capacity of -40%, as well as the absence of school groups in spring, foreigners and tourist groups during the summer. Paradisia Alpine Botanical Garden was the most visited site with 6,283 visitors, while the sites in the valley floor have been more attractive than in summer 2019, recording an increase of + 27% of visitors in the Crypt of Saint-Léger and + 12% in Châtel-Argent, thanks also to the desire of being outside, which brought many Italians to choose mountains as preferable holiday destination.
The 26 event days of the 23rd Gran Paradiso Film Festival was all sold out and the Festival increase its international dimension thanks to the web: the total audience registered 21,268 online presences from 12 countries around the world. 869 people participated as audience jury members: 7 times the number of previous edition subscribers.
Fondation Grand Paradis team is already working for the 24th edition of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival, a hybrid international event, oriented to the strengthen the collaborations with film directors from all over the world and with major European festivals, as the International Nature Namur Festival.

The prestigious Festival International Nature Namur showcases the Gran Paradiso area

GPFF — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 14:54:22 +0000

The award ceremony of the 26th FestivaI International Nature Namur, one of the most important wildlife film festivals in Europe, opened with a visual tribute to the 23rd Gran Paradiso Film Festival, which allowed the international audience to see the best of the 2020 edition – a tangible proof of the collaboration between Fondation Grand Paradis and the Belgian festival. The event took place for the first time at the Citadel of Namur on 17 October, vis-à-vis a live audience and live streamed.

Luisa Vuillermoz, Artistic Director of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival, was invited to join the technical jury of the Festival International Nature Namur, which awarded six prizes, including the Grand Prix, the event’s main prize. The 26th edition counted no less than 774 films across all categories, coming from 82 countries.

During the award ceremony, the young director Julien Deper, winner of the Prix du Public and – for the second consecutive year – of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival Award for the best Amateur Film director, presented the short documentary entitled “Au bord du monde”, which he filmed this summer in Valsavarenche, in the heart of the Gran Paradiso National Park. “Au bord du monde” was premiered at the prestigious Festival International Nature Namur and live streamed – a significant opportunity to showcase and promote the Gran Paradiso area.

Like the Gran Paradiso Film Festival, the Festival International Nature Namur has decided not to cancel the physical events in the wake of the pandemic. Instead, new solutions were found to allow both events to take place to the benefit the audience, as well as of directors and photographers wishing to promote their work on an international stage. The warm reception of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival at the Namur event is testament to the synergy between the two renowned cultural events, a collaboration that will be strengthened over time to allow for the development of both.

THE GARDEN OF THE EPISCOPAL SEMINARY WILL HOST THE CLOSING EVENT OF THE 23RD GRAN PARADISO FILM FESTIVAL WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ITALIAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FESTIVAL

GPFF — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 15:10:57 +0000

As part of the Sustainable Development Festival promoted by ASviS across Italy, the 23rd Gran Paradiso Film Festival will be back on Saturday 26 September with a free event in Aosta dedicated to nature, the mountain environment, culture and the surrounding region.

Starting at 6.00 p.m. the garden of the Episcopal Seminary will host a range of events focusing on sustainability in a changing world. The composer David Cerquetti will open the evening with two of his piano compositions: Hope, which he composed during the lockdown – a celebration of hope to suggest how public health and the state of our planet are interconnected – and the newly unveiled Freedom, a musical interpretation of the desperate cry of the glaciers melting at an accelerated rate.

The writer and journalist Marco Albino Ferrari will present his latest book “Mia sconosciuta”: mountain wilderness, with its glaciers and snow-clad peaks, is seen through the lens of the author’s personal life, through the story of his mother and her passion for that high altitude environment that is so threatened today.

After the “Apericena Natura”, during which participants will have the opportunity of tasting local delicacies, the evening will continue with the screening of the winner of the 23rd Golden Ibex Trophy, ”Marche avec les Loups”, by French director Jean-Michel Bertrand. The film narrates the director’s journey through the remotest areas of the French Alps to film the predator in its natural environment – a passionate love story for Nature that contains a universal message.

The event is part of the extensive programme of the Sustainable Development Festival, now in its fourth edition. The Festival is organized by ASviS – the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development – which Fondation Grand Paradis joined in 2020. The Sustainable Development Festival features a variety of initiatives, debates and events taking place from 22 September to 8 October 2020 across Italy, aimed at raising awareness about economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Admission is free. Booking is required – please visit www.27.gpff.it.

Gran Paradiso Film Festival and Festival International Nature Namur: a partnership that is consolidated in the post-Covid19 era

GPFF — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 12:32:59 +0000

The new paths of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival and the Festival International Nature Namur: sustainability, solidarity and resilience for a partnership that is consolidated in the post-Covid19 era

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.

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The last week of the 23° Gran Paradiso Film Festival starts with news and emotional events

GPFF — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 12:30:31 +0000

The last week of the 23^rd Gran Paradiso Film Festival is approaching with screenings and events full of curiosity and emotions.

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.27.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.

Gli eventi del GPFF nella settimana di Ferragosto

GPFF — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:08:57 +0000

Due to the bad weather, the opening event of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival has been postponed to July 29

GPFF — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 16:06:10 +0000

Due to the bad weather, the opening event of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, 2020 in Introd has been postponed to Wednesday, July 29, 2020.

Registration remains open for the evening screening session of the films and for the horse-riding outdoor activity.

For further information on the initiatives and for the online booking, please visit our www.27.gpff.it website or call the number +39 0165 75301.

Gran Paradiso Film Festival: The 23rd edition has been presented

GPFF — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 15:57:11 +0000

“New paths in the post Covid19 era – the challenge of sustainability”.

This is the theme of the 23^rd edition of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival presented today, Friday, July 24, at Palazzo Regionale in Aosta.

The Festival never stops innovating, in content and format. This year it presents a hybrid formula, online and in presence: two complementary dimensions, able to strengthen each other.

It extends temporally, from July 28 to August 22, and involves the whole territory of the Gran Paradiso, promoting, with the main event: the Trilogy of Castles, the cultural heritage too. It will be also open on the web to the whole world, with streaming events and online screening of the films.

In the era of the no touch economy, the Festival welcomes great films and one special event, four exhibitions, one concert, experiential activities in the nature and discover the traditions.