Alpin Film Festival brings 40 mountain documentaries to central Romania

The Alpin Film Festival will return to Brașov, Râșnov, and Bușteni from September 21 to 27 with more than 40 mountain-themed documentaries from over 18 countries. Now in its 11th edition, the event will feature international and Romanian competitions, a short-film section, and a special screening.

The international selection includes films previously presented or awarded at festivals such as Cannes, IDFA, Sheffield DocFest, Visions du Réel, Banff, Trento, Kathmandu, and Bilbao.

Among this year’s highlights is Australian production Iron Winter, directed by Kasimir Burgess, which won the Grand Prize at the 2025 Banff festival. Vincent Munier’s The Song of the Forests (Le Chant des forêts) will also screen in the international competition.

Other selected titles include Dawn Kish’s Old Man Lightning, Luis Arrieta Etxeberria’s Lost Roots, Deyan Bararev’s Cruel Way, Fabio Minnig and Zimy Da Kid’s Untamed, and Chris Benchetler’s Mountains of the Moon.

Jennifer Peedom’s documentary Sherpa will receive a special screening organized in partnership with the International Alliance for Mountain Film.

The Romanian competition includes Cosmin Dumitrache’s Mountain Wanderers, about Marlene and Dinu Mititeanu, and Mircea Gherase’s Șona, a Story Written in Stone, set in the artistic world of painter Ștefan Câlția.

The section also features Dan Curean’s Scărița Belișoara, Alex Dima’s Safety on Via Transilvanica, Ciprian Lolu’s Mezzalama Trophy: Ten Years Later, and Ruxandra Hurezeanu’s portraits of ultramarathon runner Tibi Ușeriu and mountaineer David Neacșu.

Ahead of the festival, Șona, a Story Written in Stone will receive a special preview at Club Control in Bucharest on September 13. The screening will be followed by a meeting with sculptor Virgil Scripcariu, with admission free subject to available capacity.

The full screening schedule is available on the festival’s website.