There was great enthusiasm and public interest in the 4th edition of the Mestia International Short&Mountain Film Festival, organised with the support of the Italian Embassy in Tbilisi. The festival, born three years ago in the heart of the Svaneti mountain region, is broadening its horizons. In fact, this year, in addition to the participation of short films and dramas on the theme of mountains, from various parts of the world, the festival has a very special guest of honour, the person who wrote one of the most important pages in the history of mountaineering, an Italian explorer, researcher and filmmaker - Reinhold Messner.
The legendary mountaineer, called 'the king of the eight-thousanders', the first man in the world to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders on Earth, the first to conquer Everest without supplementary oxygen, has carried out more than 100 expeditions and 3500 ascents during his career. But he is also the founder of Messner Mountain Museums, dedicated to mountain culture and history, and an excellent storyteller, author of books and films.
The festival was opened by Messner's biographical film 'Nanga Parbat - Mein Schlüsselberg' (2021), a story about the conquest of the summit of Nanga Parbat and his personal tragedy. Ambassador Massimiliano D'Antuono spoke at the opening ceremony, emphasising the importance of relations and interaction in the cultural and film sectors, and reminding the audience of the pages of history that link Italy and Georgia in the mountaineering sector.
Instead, on 25 July, Reinhold Messner's masterclass was held, aimed at film professionals on the peculiarities of making documentary films in extreme conditions, but also open to the mountain-loving public, who listened with great interest to his stories about his experience as a mountaineer.
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