Pakistan Mountain Festival concludes with screening of international films

ISLAMABAD: The two-week long eighth Pakistan Mountain Festival concluded with the screening of international mountain films and cultural and music performances and the mountain youth forum here at the Lok Virsa on Sunday.

The brief concluding ceremony recognised the services of the supporting organizations and individuals. The festival is the flagship annual event of the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) to commemorate the importance of the mountains. This year the festival was supported by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Centre for Culture Development, Gilgit-Baltistan Youth Council and Islamabad Devcom Centennial Leo Club (IDCLC). The Mountain Cultural Showcase was the last event that comprised of an exhibition of paintings by 20 art teachers and display of handicrafts and horticultural products and cultural performances from different regions. The films screened at the Pakistan Mountain Festival were some of the best selected from the Inkafest International Mountain Film Festival, which takes place in Peru -- South-America.

The films screened included El Mostro De Los Andes, produced by Juan Andrés Coriat in 2017. The film is about Victor Rimac, 31, has dedicated his life to the mountain and his specialty is the Solo Climbing. After achieving the North Summit of Huandoy (Huaraz) alone and in less than 24 hours, his friends began calling him "El Mostro Andino". It is wonderful Peruvian short film of one’s efforts and consistent struggle to achieve the goal.

M.S.N.M, produced in 2017 by another Peruvian producer Mauricio Quintanilla Rodríguez, narrates the story of the journey high above the Peruvian Andes through the dramatic clouds and peaks. Paired with an original score, M.S.N.M. is a simple yet enchanting glimpse at a magical land.

La Vuelta Al Huascarán is the best short film of the Inkafest 2018, produced in 2017 Víctor Jesús – another experienced and skilful producer from Peru. It is about the legendary ‘Return to Huascaran’ to explore the Cordillera Blanca that is at the foot of the highest mountains in Peru. The film discovers the Andean villages, rich in stories you cannot find written in a book. The race route passes through the highest and most impressive mountains of our beloved Cordillera Blanca. For the film, the producer toured sacred sites, artisan villages, diverse ecosystems of Huascarán National Park and quickly understood because the place has so many myths and legends, being a small mortal at the foot of the giant snow-capped and exposed to the tremendous power of nature. It is said that, in ancient times, Huascarán, the highest mountain in the country, was a young mortal who fell in love with the daughter of the god Inti named Huandoy.