Three more indipendent awards were given

Published 28/04/2026

Today, the RAI Trento Award, the Dolomites World Heritage Award, and the EUSALP Award. What keeps me here or brings me back will be presented.

Three more of the fourteen indipendent awards offered by associations or organizations partnering with the Festival will be presented today, awarded by independent juries.

The RAI Trento Award, established by the RAI branch in Trento for the best documentary on current affairs It has been attributed to Land of Canaan by Maggie Lemere (Palestine, USA/2025/84′). This is the motivation of the jury, chaired by Sergio Pezzola and composed of Waimer Walter Perinelli and Stefano Uccia: “We are all under the same sun” – these are the opening words of the film Land of Canaan by Maggie Lemere, director, oral history scholar and National Geographic explorer. The story is set in Palestine, a land ravaged by war. At the heart of the narrative lies the olive tree, a symbol of peace and life. Through their labour, Palestinian farmers defy those who seek to displace them, nurturing their trees as a source of wealth to pass on to their children; a tradition and legacy handed down, given to us by our parents. The land of Canaan has an abundance of ancient, centuries-old olive trees, whose fruit provides life-sustaining sustenance, thanks to a solidarity-based economy. The olive tree is not merely an economic resource, but the very lifeblood binding together the past and the future, a link between generations and nature, and a millennia-old symbol of identity and resilience. The film is a condemnation of war but also a message of peace: “What does your religion matter,” says one of the protagonists, “Muslim, Jewish, Christian – we all share the same sky. When we are in harmony with the earth, there is peace.” Through the land, the people reassert their existence and their right to guard their heritage». The award will be presented during the Cosa vedo oggi event, at 12 pm in Piazza Duomo, in the presence of the director.

The Dolomites World Heritage Award is established by the Fondazione Dolomiti UNESCO and SAT Società Alpinisti Tridentini for the best film documenting the awareness within communities of the exceptional universal values recognised by UNESCO and the ability to carry out active conservation of the area. At this edition of the Trento Film Festival, the winner is La Cima by Simone Cargnoni (Italy/2026/52′): «Three bodies, three stories and a wall in the Dolomites. Climbing is neither a race nor a record, but a shared enterprise, and silent and unspoken support between climbers. The camera stays close, without dramatising. The summit brings no celebration, only questions; and in the dialogue between man and nature, limits once thought to be insurmountable become open questions. Mountains cannot be owned: they are there to be listened to, together, while some make them accessible to those who have stopped believing, in the spirit of UNESCO’s universal values», wrote the jurors Massimiliano Corradini (president), Mauro Pascolini and Cinzia Fedrizzi. The award will be announced at 6:15 pm at the Supercinema Vittoria, in the presence of the director.

A special mention was given to Beyul by Francesco Clerici and Angelica Pastorella (Italy/2026/64′): «an anthropological portrait of the Zanskar Valley in the Himalayas. Amidst water spirits and man-made glaciers, climate change is not so much a prediction as a daily struggle for survival. The community’s resilience is built on a blend of tradition and necessity. The mountains are unlike our own, yet just as fragile and sacred, in a hidden valley – a ‘refuge’ for a resilient community».

Finally, also the EUSALP Award. What keeps me here or brings me back will be presented today. Established by Autonomous Province of Trento, the award aims to promote the stories of those who choose to live in or come back to the mountains, recognising the value and potential of these areas. Specifically, the initiative intends to highlight experiences related to work in mountain environments, ranging from traditional trades to innovative experiences, including those developing as a result of digital technology. Grasping these new opportunities allows residents of all ages to make fully aware choices to stay or settle in the mountains, generating significant socioeconomic spin-offs and combating the depopulation of mountain areas. The jury – chaired by Provincial Councillor Simone Marchiori and composed of Valeria Placidi, Roberta Cuel, Metella Costanzi and Filippo Benedetti – awarded the prize to Une journée | Un berger, dans les Alpes françaises by Camille Walter (France/2025/48′): «The documentary was chosen because it offers an authentic account of the various reasons leading four young people to embark on life paths linked to sheep farming. Although they come from different backgrounds and contexts, the protagonists share a strong emotional and cultural bond with the mountain environment, which emerges as a unifying factor in their choices and aspirations. The film successfully conveys the value of alpine ‘know-how’, which is essential to the identity of mountain communities within the EUSALP Strategy. The sincerity of the stories and the reflection on the multiple meanings and motivations underlying the choice to live in the mountains were particularly appreciated. Specifically, the film stands out for its original and sensitive perspective, moving away from more conventional and bucolic representations of the Alpine environment, and has been given the award for portraying the modern face of Alpine pastoralism honestly and faithfully, without romantic idealisation yet imbued with a deep respect for the land. It is precisely this ability to combine authenticity, complexity and narrative rigour that has earned the documentary Une journée | Un berger, dans les Alpes françaises recognition with the EUSALP Award, “What keeps me here or brings me back”». The award will be presented during the screening, scheduled for 6:30 pm at the Cinema Modena, Auditorium 1.