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NOTICIAS
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- Category: Noticias 2026
Mendi Film, Ternua and the Basque Language, Culture and Sports Ministry of the Bizkaia Regional Government are announcing the 7th edition of the Mendi Film Bizkaia Ternua Beka, the grant aimed at the creation of documentary film projects that seek to promote mountain culture through audiovisual means.
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- Category: Noticias 2026
Andoni Ormazabal (Xabier Ormazabal Festa), Javi Antúnez (EMF-FVM), Ibon Mendia (grant awarded), Jabi Baraiazarra (Mendi Film)
The event in memory of Xabier Ormazabal served as the setting for the announcement of the fifth edition of the grant named after him. The Navarran mountaineer and climber Ibon Mendia will receive support for his project to complete the full traverse of Cerro Torre, linking Cerro Standhardt, Punta Herrón, Torre Egger and Cerro Torre.
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- Category: Noticias 2026
The International Alliance for Mountain Film decided to award the Grand Prize to Jennifer Peedom, an Australian writer, director and producer creating movies combining documentary realism with cinematic grandeur. An extremely personal style that, over the years, has made her one of the most authoritative voices in contemporary documentary cinema, particularly in the fields of nature and mountaineering.
Jennifer Peedom's journey began long ago and at high altitude: the first films that made her stand out were in 2008, "Miracle on Everest" and above all "Solo", winner of many prestigious awards.
The turning point came in 2015 with "Sherpa", which was the third highest-grossing Australian documentary of all time and was internationally acclaimed and nominated for a BAFTA, as well as winning at International Alliance for Mountain Film festivals like the Festival Gorniškega Filma in Slovenia and the Festival International du Film Alpin des Diablerets, in Switzerland.
Two years later, in 2017, she made "Mountain" in collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The film surpassed "Sherpa" and became the most viewed documentary of all time in Australia, and was released in cinemas in 26 countries worldwide. The film was awarded with the Special Jury Mention at the Mendi Film Festival and closed the Savage Cinema section of the San Sebastian Film Festival.
With "River" in 2021 and "Deeper" in 2025, she shifted her focus from the peaks to the water and the depths of submerged caves. The elements changed, but not the quality and style.
She is currently in post-production for the film "Tenzing", a feature-length fiction film about Tenzing Norgay and the first ascent of Everest.
After the IAMF Grand Prize awarded in 2022 to Michel Dillon, this new recognition testifies to the vitality and importance of Australian filmmakers on the scene of mountain cinema.
“Sherpa” at the 2026 Mendi Film Festival
BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia will include the film “Sherpa” in the program of its 19th edition – from December 4th to 13th, 2026. In this way, the festival will celebrate and share this great work by the IAMF-awarded filmmaker with the Mendi Zale audience, and it will be the first time it can be enjoyed on the big screen in cinema quality in Bilbao.
Grand Prize by the International Alliance for Mountain Film
This was announced during the awards ceremony of the recently concluded Trento Film Festival, in Italy. Instituted in 2000, throughout its trajectory the International Alliance for Mountain Film, which includes the most prestigious organisations in the sector among its members, has become the main reference point for those who produce, promote and conserve mountain films. Today we are 27 members: 26 festivals of mountain film and one mountain museum, which represent 20 countries from Europe, Asia, North and South America and Oceania.
Ever since the founding, the members have been interested in honouring those who, through their talent, have changed the world of mountain film. IAMF members wish to express their gratitude to the filmmakers, directors and producers who have contributed throughout their careers to the evolution of mountain film into the prominent genre that it is today.
With this in mind, IAMF created in 2002 the IAMF Grand Prize, recognizing career leaders in mountain film. The winners include directors such as Gerhard Baur, Lothar Brandler, Pavol Barabas, Kurt Diemberger, Ermanno Olmi, Werner Herzog, Dariusz Zaluski, Michael Dillon, Eliza Kubarska, Renan Ozturk and, in 2025, Sébastien Montaz-Rosset, as well as producers such as Swiss Television or Sender Films.
International Alliance For Mountain Film Grand Prize (2002-2026)
- 2026 JENNIFER PEEDOM
- 2025 SÉBASTIEN MONTAZ-ROSSET
- 2024 RENAN OZTURK
- 2023 ELIZA KUBARSKA *Mendi TV
- 2022 MICHAEL DILLON *MendiTV
- 2021 DARIUSZ ZALUSKI
- 2020 WERNER HERZOG
- 2019 KEITH PARTRIDGE
- 2018 KURT DIEMBERGER *MendiTV
- 2017 GILLEZ CHAPPAZ
- 2016 SENDER FILMS
- 2015 ANNE, ERIK and VÉRONIQUE LAPIED
- 2014 ERIC CROSLAND and DAVE MOSSOP, SHERPAS CINEMA
- 2013 ALASTAIR LEE
- 2012 ERMANNO OLMI
- 2011 PAVOL BARABÁS
- 2010 HANS-JÜRGEN PANITZ
- 2009 LOTHAR BRANDLER
- 2008 SEBASTIÁN ÁLVARO
- 2007 MICHAEL BROWN
- 2006 DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR TELEVISION SWITZERLAND
- 2005 JEAN-PIERRE BAILLY
- 2004 FULVIO MARIANI
- 2003 LEO DICKINSON
- 2002 GERHARD BAUR
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- Category: Noticias 2026
The 19th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia, to be held from December 4 to 13, 2026, presents its official poster: Quantum Cave Chronicles 1, a photograph taken by Lei Bao inside a tiankeng in the Guangxi autonomous region of China.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
The registration period for submitting films for the Official Selection of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia is opened. Those interested will have until the 5th of September.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
MENDI TOUR, the circuit of the best films from the Mendi Film Festival, has brought together 9,300 spectators across 50 screenings in 21 cities and towns during the winter season, from January to March. This impressive figure demonstrates the strength of mountain cinema and the quality of Mendi Film's offerings.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Bilbo, December 17th 2025. An excellent 18th edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia has brought an outstanding year to a close for the Mendi Film Association with a total of 22,300 viewers in 2025. This represents the second-best figure in the last six years, very close to last year's total of 700 more viewers.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Jabier Baraiazarra, Nagore Eceiza, Luis Arrieta, Boris Peters, Ben Sturgulewski, Katie Stjernholm, Julen Elorza, Javier Álvaro, Mikel Urdangarin and Koldo Uriarte
Bilbao, December 14, 2025. The award ceremony of the 18th edition of the bbk Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival brought together numerous filmmakers on stage.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Bilbao, December 13, 2025. The 18th edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival presents a list of 12 awards decided by a jury composed of Crystal Merril (USA), director of Mountainfilm Telluride; filmmakers Michael Brown (USA) and Elena Goatelli (Italy); Aleksandar Zarapchiev (Macedonia), director of the Echo Film Festival; and Carmen Martínez (Basque Country), manager of the Bilbao Choral Society.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Bilbao, 25 November 2025. The BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival has presented its 18th edition at the Euskalduna Bilbao. It will be held there for 10 days, from December15th to the 14th, Euskalduna Congress centre becoming a Mountain Culture Base Camp.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Bilbao, December 8, 2025. The BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival kicked off with a packed house and an unbeatable atmosphere. The three days, from Friday to Sunday, were lively and full of inspiration.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
45 films will compete this year in the Official Section of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia festival, from December 5th to the 14th. These are films about mountains, adventure, extreme sports and nature, all recent productions, no more than two years old.
A total of 226 films have been submitted directly to participate in Bilbao. This is the same number as last year; equalling Mendi Film's all-time high.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
The WOP Mendi Film 2025 Award goes to Catherine Destivelle. With the 18th edition of the Mendi Film Festival in full swing, she will receive recognition from the organizers and, above all, the public in Bilbao. The event will take place on Friday, December 12th the Euskalduna Bilbao, starting at 7:45 p.m. It will undoubtedly be one of the festival's highlights, as it will conclude with the premiere of the film ‘Champions of the Golden Valley’, from the Official Section, presented by its director Ben Sturgulewski.
The WOP Mendi Film Award is awarded by The Walk On Project Foundation and the Mendi Film, and this year marks its 12th edition. Various personalities and organizations have been recognized for their contribution to mountain culture and for being leaders in the values they convey.
Catherine Destivelle (1960, Oran)
Climber, mountaineer, writer, editor and conference speaker. Catherine Destivelle probably never imagined where her first steps climbing the boulders of Fontainebleau, where her parents took her to play as a child, would lead her. At 16, she was already climbing in the Verdon. Her victory in the first world climbing championship in Bardonechia (1985) propelled her into the professional world. Then came the leap into mountaineering: the first solo female winter ascent of the north face of the Eiger, the first absolute repeat of the Bonatti route on the north face of the Matterhorn, the Trango Tower, the ascent of the south-west face of Shisha Pangma... all of which forged her path. In 2020 she was awarded the Piolet d'Or for her career.
She founded the publishing house Les éditions du Mont-Blanc with the aim of transforming the mountain itself into an educational tool. The books she publishes reveal incredible mountaineering stories and share a love of the mountains. “My goal is to build a bridge between cultural history, sporting heritage and the ecological and scientific concerns of the times we live in”, she says. Her publishing team is deliberately made up entirely of women.
Catherine Destivelle has a direct connection with Mendi Film. She is revered as the protagonist of the film ‘Au de la des cimes’ directed by Rémy Tezier, and winner of the Grand Prize in 2009. In 2017, she actively participated in Mendi Film's tenth anniversary, participating in the panel talk ‘Women at the Top’ alongside Lynn Hill, Edurne Pasaban, Josune Bereziartu, Bernadette McDonald, and Katie Ives; in the presentation on mountain literature alongside Bernadette McDonald, Katie Ives, Lara Izagirre, and Luisa Alonso Cires; and finally, with a solo lecture: ‘From Bouldering to High Mountains Ascent’.
Edurne Pasaban, Lynn Hill, Catherine Destivelle, Josune Bereziartu, Katie Ives and Bernadette McDonald, at the Mendi Film 2017
WOP Mendi Film Award
18. BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia
December 12, at 19.45 pm
Euskalduna Bilbao - hall 0B
WOP Mendi Film Award:
· 2024: Basque and Navarre mountain federations
· 2023: Edurne Pasaban
· 2022: Eduardo Martínez de Pisón
· 2021: Sebastián Álvaro
· 2020: Fundación Baltistán Fundazioa
· 2019: Nives Meroi e Romano Benet
· 2018: Juanjo San Sebastián
· 2017: Peter Habeler
· 2016: Sir Chris Bonington
· 2015: Josep Manuel Anglada
· 2014: Drawn film by Jeremy Collins
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Zigor Egia (EMF-FVM vice president), Jabier Baraiazarra (Mendi Film president and director) and Ricardo Hernani (EMF-FVM president)
Bilbao, October 24, 2025. The Basque Mountain Federation (EMF-FVM) and the Mendi Film Festival Association will continue to work together for the next four years. Meeting in Bilbao, the current leaders of both organizations, Ricardo Hernani and Zigor Egia (president and vice president of EMF-FVM), and Jabier Baraiazarra (president and director of Mendi Film), have signed the agreement that unites them.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Bilbao, 3th June 2025. The MENDI TOUR, the touring cycle of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia International Mountain Film Festival, continues to grow. In the first half of 2025, film sessions have been held in 32 towns and cities with mountain, adventure, extreme sports and nature films. The number of spectators has grown by 13% compared to last year at this point. In total, 11,000 spectators have gone to the cinemas this year to enjoy the MENDI TOUR.
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- Category: Noticias 2025
Bilbo, 2025.05.22. The 18th edition of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia to be held from December 5 to 14, 2025 already has its main image. It is the snapshot entitled The Cave by Chamonix-based Parisian photographer Julia Roger-Veyer.
This image has been awarded in the CVCEPHOTO mountain activity photography contest organized by the Basque Camping Club Elkartea of Donostia-San Sebastián, in the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia Poster Award, endowed with 800 euros and the choice as the main image of the Mendi Film 2025.
More Articles …
- The Basque Mountain Museum-EMMOA has been named as a new member of the International Alliance of Mountain Museums, IMMA
- Jabi Baraiazarra to begin third term as IAMF President
- The IAMF 2025 Grand Prize has been awarded to French director Sébastien Montaz-Rosset
- 9,800 spectators attended the 17th edition of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia, 34% up on last year festival
- ‘Songs of Earth’ wins the Mendi Film Grand Price, a Norwegian film with “magnificent cinematography, a poetic narration and a sublime soundtrack”
- Mendi Film is in full swing with a great first weekend
- BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia, the mountain film festival suitable for all ages from December 6 to 15
- 49 films in the Official Section and in Zabalandi of the BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia 2024
- The MENDI FILM BEKA 2025 this year has novelties: we are opening the grant to amateur and professional filmmakers
- The main image of BBK Mendi Film Bilbao Bizkaia 2024 burns with “Fuego”
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