The 16th Colonya Palma Montaña Film Fest is coming: more screenings than ever and a reflection on ethics in mountaineering.

PalmThe 16th edition of the Colonya Palma Muntanya Film Fest (PMFF) will turn Palma and other locations in Mallorca into the epicenter of mountain cinema and culture from October 18 to 28. The event, established as a benchmark event on the island's cultural calendar, arrives with a program that combines film, literature, and debate in a "fresh and innovative" edition. This year, twenty films from eleven countries will be screened, twelve of which will compete in the official section. Four of these titles will be released for the first time in Spain.

The festival maintains the spirit that has defined it since its inception: a passion for the mountains and nature as a space for experience and reflection. "You'll only know if you walk," reads this year's motto, which emphasizes the link between physical experience and cinematographic vision.

In this sense, both the director of the Coloña Mountain Film Festival of Palma, Bartomeu Tomàs, and the president of the Balearic Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing, Xisco Fanals, have highlighted the importance of being aware of the increasing overcrowding in the mountains and the importance of nature. "The same thing is happening in the mountains as in the coves and beaches of Mallorca," Tomàs denounced. For his part, Fanals has argued that "overcrowding in the mountains has its positive aspects, such as the love for nature that it creates in many people, but it also has negative aspects, and we must be aware of this and look for strategies to protect nature."

Cinema and reflection

The Festival will open on October 18th at the Galatzó refuge with the first Balearic Symposium on Hiking and Trekking, a day to analyze the past, present, and future of these practices on the islands. The debate will bring together clubs, institutions, and professionals to address challenges such as sustainability, safety, and the role of technology.

Regarding the importance of this reflection and care for mountain practices, Tomàs asserted that "brave and political measures are necessary that may be unpopular and go against economic development, but will save the environment." "What do we want the Tramuntana mountain range to be: a Born promenade or a protected natural area?" asked the director of the Coloña Mountain Film Festival of Palma. Referring to this rhetorical question, Tomàs emphasized that "to prevent it from becoming the Born promenade, we must work with respect and knowledge of nature and impose protective controls."

For ten days, the films will be shown at venues such as CineCiutat, Palma's Teatro Principal, the Xesc Forteza Theater, Ca n'Oleo, and Inca's Teatro Principal. In total, the festival offers nine film screenings, a conference on ethics in mountaineering, discussions, and book presentations.

Themes and Awards

The selected films address topics such as climate change, mountaineering, local communities, women in the mountains, and extreme emotions. There will also be room for innovative proposals, such as vertical dance or swimming in icy waters.

This year, the PMFF will award three prizes: the Colonya Award for Best Film, voted by the public; the Balearic Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing Award for Best Mountain Film; and the Kenia Outdoor Award for Best Nature and Ethnography Film, all worth 500 euros.

Other activities

Among the parallel proposals, the conference 'Ethics in mountaineering, led by journalist and mountain guide Óscar Gogorza, will take place on October 27 at Ca n'Oleo. On October 22, the Luna Bookstore will host a mountain book exhibition and sale featuring the year's major new releases.

The festival will close on October 28 at the Principal Theater in Inca with the presentation of the documentary Breaking ground –on the opening of a new route in Peru by the Mountaineering Development Group of the Balearic Islands– and the talk by climber Sílvia Vidal, author of There is light between the strings, a reflection on loneliness and human limits.

Sixteen Years of Journey

Since its inception, the Palma Mountain Film Festival has screened more than 220 documentaries and attracted more than 31,000 spectators. In the words of its director, Bartomeu Tomàs, the event "keeps alive the desire to be a meeting point between the mountains, culture, and society." Once again, the event invites people to walk, observe, and think from the mountains. In this regard, Biel Bauzà, general manager of Colonya Caixa Pollença (the festival's main sponsor), emphasized that "having an idea is already very difficult, but even more difficult is continuing and keeping it alive, maintaining the enthusiasm, quality, and public interest."