WOP MENDI FILM AWARD 2025
CATHERINE DESTIVELLE
Friday december 8 – 19:45 Euskalduna Bilbao
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.
WOP Mendi Film Award winners:
• Basque and Navarre Mountaineering Federations (2024)
• Edurne Pasaban (2023)
• Eduardo Martínez de Pisón (2022)
• Sebastián Álvaro (2021)
• Baltistán Fundazioa Foundation (2020)
• Nives Meroi and Romano Benet (2019)
• Juanjo San Sebastián (2018)
• Peter Habeler (2017)
• Sir Chris Bonington (2016)
• Josep Manuel Anglada (2015)
• Drawn film by Jeremy Collins (2014)
CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY
2024, Afghanistan, Germany, United States, 81min
Director: Ben Sturgulewski
NATIONAL PREMIERE
Up in the snow-capped mountains of Afghanistan, in the remote region of Bamyan, a homegrown ski culture is emerging. At the heart of this movement is Alishah Farhang, a former Winter Olympic hopeful whose dream of being the first to represent Afghanistan in alpine skiing, transforms into a mission to bring his passion for the sport to his homeland. Equipped with handmade wooden skis and second-hand gear, young athletes from rival villages come together to compete in a ski mountaineering race, like no other. The event becomes a powerful catalyst for unity and hope, showcasing the transformative power of sport to bridge deep divides. And when their world is suddenly upended, Alishah and the athletes must call upon those lessons learned on the slopes.