30. Film Festival della Lessinia
Bosco Chiesanuova (Italia)
23 August - 1 September 2024

Italian premiere

On the days when the Föhn blows, the mountains of Hauptkammes, in the German region of the Allgäu are silhouetted – almost violently – against the sky. One in particular stands out: Höfats, the tallest and most imposing, 2258 meters high. The geological composition of this mountain and a lengthy erosion by the winds have modeled its steep slopes, covered with grass, where an incredible variety of plants and flowers grow, among these many species that exist only in the Bavarian Alps. One of these flowers is the celebrated Edelweiss, that would have disappeared long ago if a campaign to protect it had not begun in 1894. At Gerstruben, one of the most ancient settlements of the Allgäu region, is the head of a steep trail used first by shepherds with their flocks, then by farmers to cut their hay, later by the earliest alpinists and today by hikers and botanists to reach the top of this mountain where it is still possible to enjoy a wild, uncontaminated corner of the world where one can feel at peace. 

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  Gerhard Baur

  Born on Lake Constance, in Bavaria, in 1968 he began his long, career as author and director of documentaries and fi lms devoted, above all, to his Alpine feats. In recent years he has favoured subjects about the mountains in the Allgäu region, where he lives. He has produced and directed some seventy documentaries about the mountains.