G4 stands for Gasherbrun 4: a mountain of almost eight thousand metres, described by Kurt Diemburger as "the most difficult mountain on earth". It was the mountain chosen by a group of seven Swiss-Italian alpinists. The expedition intended to make the first repetition of the ridge climbed for the first time in 1958 by the Italians Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri.
In actual fact the expedition’s attempt on G4 – situated in the Karakorum range, on the borders of China, India and Pakistan - coincided with the time New Delhi and Islamabad were on the verge of a nuclear conflict.
The documentary interweaves the 1958 expedition (with historical footage and reminiscences of some of its members, Bonatti and Cassin) with the 2002 expedition on the Himalayan glaciers and new scenes of the absurd war fought by two relatively poor countries.
Owing to the adverse weather conditions the climb ended at about 7,000 metres, without reaching the peak of G4; the unsuccessful attempt takes second place compared with the problems this region will have to face for many years to come.
Directors
FULVIO MARIANI
Fulvio Mariani was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) in 1958. In 1981 he started to work as a cameraman for TSI – Swiss Italian Television. In 1985 he shot the documentary Cumbre which received many official awards. Thanks to this film, Mariani started his own business, Iceberg-Film, a production company mainly specialising in adventure documentary films. For many years he collaborated with leading figures in the climbing and mountaineering world, such as Reinhold Messner, Jerzy Kukuczka, Walter Bonatti, Hans Kammerlander, Riccardo Cassin, Mauro Corona, Stefan Glowacs and Piero Dal Pra'. In 1991 he was director of photography on the wall for the film Grido di pietra by Werner Herzog. He has collaborated with leading European Televisions channels such as ZDF, ORF, France 3, RAI and Mediaset, always shooting extreme adventure situations. In 1987 he published the book Drammi e Diaframmi. In 1994 he was director of photography for the Television series "Viva Africa and Overland" for Italian RAI. The following documentary films also received many awards: "L’uomo di legno", "La strada per Olmo Lungring and Siachen: a war for ice". He has participated in TrentoFilmfestival since the beginning of his career. He won the Silver Gentian prize with "Cumbre" (1987) and with "Cinquant’anni dopo" (1988) as well as the Golden Gentian CAI for the film "I Cavalieri delle vertigini "(2000). In 1990 he was a member of the International Jury in Trento.
MARIO CASELLA
Born in 1959, he lives in Roveredo, Switzerland. He is a mountain guide, journalist, writer and director. He was correspondent in Washington DC for Televisione Italiana Svizzera (TSI) (1997-2000), for which he still works in Lugano. He has been foreign affairs editor for the news programme and co-producer of the information magazine "Falò". He currently works mainly as a freelance documentary director. He has filmed and produced films and reports on the Berlin Wall, Croatia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and the USA, among others. He has participated at TrentoFilmfestival several times and won the solidarity prize with Grozny Dreaming (2009).