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.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.

Subscription is open from today.  The audience jury could vote the best film of the International Competition. Registrations are also open for the youngest fans of nature documentaries: the “Stambecco d’oro Junior trophy” will be awarded by kids up to 13 years, while short films will compete for the “CortoNatura Award”.

The first 100 audience jury members entered in the section of the International Competition who have seen all the films and who have filled the voting form correctly will receive a mountain backpack Lowe Alpine, while from 101 to 150 subscription the audience jury members will receive a Montura t-shirt.  The first 50 members of the CortoNatura audience jury will be gifted with a Montura editing publication and a Montura waterproof case. In addition to those prizes they will also receive a Fondation Grand Paradis Pass and a map of the Giroparchi trails.

The first 300 subscribers at the online platform will receive a bonus access code for the film event: “The Elephant Queen” of Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone, produced by Apple TV, which will be also screened on August 18 in Rhêmes-Saint-Georges.

Registration could be done filling the online form available on the dedicated section of www.27.gpff.it website or going to the visitor centers of the Gran Paradiso National Park of Cogne, Rhêmes-Notre-Dame and Valsavarenche, to the Introd Castle or to the tourism office of Cogne.

From July 28 to August 2, within “The Castle Trilogy”, three events organized in the municipalities of Introd, Villeneuve and Aymavilles in front of the three magnificent castles of Gran Paradiso, will host the outdoor screenings of the films in competition. The final ceremony of the 23^rd Gran Paradiso Film Festival will take place on August 22 at the Miners Villaggio of Cogne. Participation at the events will be free upon reservation, subject to availability.

Booking system, Festival program and complete regulation for becoming a member of the audience jury are available at www.27.gpff.it .

The Gran Paradiso Film Festival is a project of Fondation Grand Paradis, carried out in the framework of the projects: PACTA – Promouvoir l’Action Culturelle en Territoire Alpin (Interreg VA Italy-France ALCOTRA 2014-2020) and SONO – Revealing possibilities and fostering opportunities (Interrreg VA Italy-Switzerland 2014-2020), in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry Corps of the Valle d’Aosta Autonomous Region, with the contribution of the Tourism, Sport, Trade, Agriculture and Cultural Heritage, Valle d’Aosta Autonomous Region, CRT Foundation, Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism (MIBACT) and the Gran Paradiso National Park; with the support of the Municipality of Cogne, Fondazione Comunitaria della Valle d’Aosta, theItalian Alpine Club (CAI), the Alpine Convention and Federparchi; under the patronage of the Municipalities of: Aymavilles, Introd, Rhêmes-Notre-Dame, Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, Villeneuve and Ente Progetto Natur,a and the technical sponsorship of Montura.