FIFAD@Villars

FIFAD returns to the Villars Palace for this edition, offering a rich programme combining film screenings, conferences, discussions with experts and highlights focusing on major Alpine issues.

The public will be able to discover a Best Of selection of films presented at FIFAD 2025, an unmissable opportunity to relive the festival's most memorable moments.

A major new feature: for the first time, FIFAD will present a preview of content to be screened in 2026. This is a unique opportunity for all mountain and film enthusiasts to get a sneak peek at the next edition.

The festival will also offer the opportunity to meet directors, scientists and committed personalities, who will share their experiences and their vision. A special day dedicated to the environment and climate, designed to raise awareness among the younger generations, will complete the programme.

Programme

FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY - 8.30pm

• Girls Move Mountains - Special Jury Mention

By Anna Huix (Spain) 2025 - 20 minutes - original version (Spanish with English subtitles) - age 10 - World culture

Female empowerment through football! Karishma is the co-founder of the Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Football League, a women's football tournament organised in the Karakoram mountains of Pakistan. Needless to say, Karishma and her friends have to fight against the prejudices of men who view with suspicion the joy of these young women who want to escape the rules of the clan.

• One with the Whale / Diable d'Or 2025

By Pete Chelkowski and Jim Wickens (USA) 2023 - 82 minutes - age 8 - World Culture

Whaling is a matter of life and death for the indigenous peoples of Alaska. When Chris Agraspassingok becomes the youngest whale harpooner in his village, his mother proudly shares the news on social media. To her surprise, thousands of anti-hunting activists violently attack Chris without really understanding the magnitude of his achievement. An entire family struggles to rebuild its identity, torn between indigenous tradition and the American flag.

SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY - 5:00 PM

• The Last Observers / Diable d’Or 2025

By Maja K Mikkelsen (USA and Sweden) 2024 - 24 minutes - in SO with French subtitles - age 8 - Nature and environment

‘All that for a measly salary, but for a fantastic life!’ In Sweden, for 37 years, Karin and Lennart have braved the elements to record the weather. It is the last weather station where the couple manually records the moods of the weather. They don't get a single day off, but they do have time to indulge in their passion: bird watching. Filmed by their own daughter, this film is above all a heart-warming love story.

• Beyond Prognosis / Audience Award 2025

By Silvalex & Morgan LE FAUCHEUR (France) 2024 - 55 minutes - Original version (French) - age 10 - Exploration and adventure

Yannis Pelé was only 17 when he suffered a terrible fall during a competition, fracturing his vertebrae and damaging his spinal cord. Yannis lost the use of his legs and with them, his dream of pursuing a world career in downhill mountain biking. When a childhood dream ends, what remains but hope? Yannis refuses to believe it and hangs on. It's the start of a race against time. But what the medical profession doesn't know is that Yannis has a lucky star... Get up and walk?

SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY - 8.30PM

• Crying Glacier

By Lutz Stautner (Switzerland) 2023 - 14 minutes - Original version with English subtitles - age 8 - Short film

Giving nature a voice to better protect it. That is what bioacoustics offers. From the depths of the oceans to birdsong and the pulse of a forest, the spectrum of research is enormous. This is what Ludwig Berger is doing on our glaciers. It turns out that the noisier a glacier is, the more it is dying, the more it is melting. The cracks and creaks are the voice of impermanence. Sounds that may disappear forever.

• BEFORE the 1st FIFAD in Villars! : K2 Chasing Shadow

By Hugo Clouzeau and David Arnaud 2025 - 66 minutes - in French - age 10

K2 – Chasing Shadows follows Benjamin Védrine, a gifted mountaineer well known for his fast and technical style, as he decides to take on his greatest challenge: a fast, oxygen-free ascent of K2, the second highest mountain in the world, nicknamed ‘the savage mountain’. But behind this race to the summit lies a more personal quest – an inner challenge that will test Benjamin far beyond his physical limits.

SUNDAY 1 MARCH - 2 PM

• As Far as the Eye Can See

By Pierre and Carla Petit (France) 2024 - 52 minutes - original version (French) - age 10 - Exploration and adventure

Carla is a young visually impaired horse rider. She embarks on a journey of discovery on horseback in the Kyrgyz steppes. Her father, a cinematographer and director, films her, accompanies her to describe the scenes she cannot see, warns her of dangers and encourages her. Determined and curious, Carla discovers the country through her father's eyes. She learns to understand the invisible in order to better use the energy transmitted to her by her horse. In turn, she helps us to ‘see’ the world. Dazzling.

• Zahir

By Julien Nadiras (Switzerland) 2025 - 36 minutes - Original version with French subtitles, age 10 (12) - Verticale

When Katherine Choong suggests to her friend Eline Le Menestrel that they climb ‘Zahir’, one of the most difficult routes in the Alps, Eline agrees on one condition: that they use only soft mobility, in this case bicycles. As the days pass on the rock face, these two young women, who are among the world's elite climbers, realise that their project is ambitious. Very ambitious!

SUNDAY 1 MARCH - 5.30 PM

• Of a Lifetime

By Jérôme Tanon (Switzerland) 2024 - 44 minutes - original version with French subtitles - age 10 - Exploration and adventure

You can't choose your parents, but when you're born into a family of professional freeriders, you have to embrace it! That's what happens to 18-year-old Mila, who faces off against her father and uncle, Xavier and Victor De Le Rue. It's a passing of the torch and a journey of discovery for this young woman as she explores the breathtaking landscapes of Antarctica. Her diary chronicles her joys, her fears and her determination to rise to the challenge. And it's a big one.

• The Future of Climbing

By Guillaume Broust (France) 2025 - 52 minutes - Original French version, age 8 (10) - Verticale

The world of climbing is in turmoil: indoor climbing is booming and the Olympic Games have made it a new discipline. However, this rapidly evolving sport faces a curious paradox: its success indoors contrasts with the threats to natural climbing sites. With his legendary humour and expert eye, Cédric Lachat wonders what we will leave to future generations.

SUNDAY 1 MAY - 8.30 PM

• Mollo / Diable d’Or 2025

De Thibault Lampe (Switzerland), 2025, 20 min, original version with French subtitles, age 10 (12) – short film

Michelle is a high-level climber pursuing a dream she imagined during a stay in a psychiatric hospital. As she grapples with the physical and emotional consequences of her ambition, the film explores mental health, healing, and what happens when the thing that once saved you threatens to break you. Both surprisingly funny and deeply personal, Mollo is a reflection on the fragile balance between care and suffering, and the price of seeking meaning in the mountains.

• Champions of the Golden Valley / FIFAD Grand Prix 2025

By Ben Sturgulewski (USA) 2024 - 81 minutes - original version with French subtitles - age 10 - World culture

In the remote mountains of Afghanistan, a new passion for skiing is attracting young people from the region. With minimal equipment and makeshift wooden skis, Alishah Farhang organises a unique ski race, a race that allows the community to recharge its batteries in a moment of unity... just before the collapse of the country and the return of the Taliban. A moving story told with sensitivity by an Afghan refugee who dreams of only one thing: returning to his homeland.