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The International Alliance for Mountain Film is proud to inform that its 2026 Grand Prize has been awarded to Australian director Jennifer Peedom
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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
"Romantic love letter to the land"
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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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