UMFF 2024. 9. 27 - 10. 1

UMFF 본문




UMFF  /  UMCA  /   UMCA 2024

Ulsan Ulju Mountain Culture Award

The Ulsan Ulju Mountain Culture Award is awarded to those who have made exceptional contributions to the progress of mountain culture, such as nature, environment, climbing films and literature.

Harish Kapadia

Harish Kapadia, born in 1945 in Mumbai, India, has explored unchartered territories in the Indian Himalayas through over 170 climbs and explorations over the past 40 years, and has authored 18 books and some 70 articles about his expeditions.

For his contributions in widening our scope of geographical and exploratory knowledge regarding the Himalayas, he has been awarded the Royal Geographical Society's "Patron's Medal". He has been globally recognized by receiving the "Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award" from the President of India, and the "Piolets D'or Asia" which is considered to be the Oscar award of mountaineering.

He is also the "explorer for peace" leading the campaigns for the "Siachen Peace Park" initiative surrounding the Karakoram Range, a region marred by border disputes persisting over half a century.

UMCA 2024 Selection Criteria

Harish Kapadia(79) is an “explorer for peace” who has made significant contributions to the accumulation, analysis, and dissemination of the exploratory knowledge in the Himalayas, as well as to peace efforts in mountain conflict zones.

During his 40-some years of explorations, Kapadia has climbed more than 30 high peaks and crossed over 170 remote mountain passes. He has also authored 18 books on exploration geography and served as the editor of the prestigious Himalayan Journal for 35 years, dedicating his life to expanding the horizons of exploration. Particularly noteworthy is his pioneering the peace efforts surrounding the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Range, a region marred by violent border disputes persisting over half a century, leading the campaigns for the “Siachen Peace Park” initiative. He has been recognized for turning a personal tragedy into a catalyst for peace activism after his soldier son died while serving in that region.

Kapadia has been widely recognized for his significant contributions in the Himalayan explorations through prestigious awards from around the world, including: the Royal Geographical Society’s “Patron’s Medal” bestowed by the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, the “Tensing Norgay National Adventure Award” awarded by the President of India, the “King Albert Gold Medal” from Switzerland, and the “Joss Lynam Medal” from Ireland. In 2017, he visited Korea to be awarded with the “Piolets D’or Asia”, which is considered to be the Oscar award of mountaineering.

Kapadia’s unwavering passion for exploration and the ensuing faith in peace resonates deeply in a world full of conflict and environmental degradation. The slogan for the 2024 Ulsan Ulju Mountain Film Festival, “Come up higher, Cinemountain”, will undoubtedly find even deeper significance through his lifelong journey of exploration.

UMCA Committee

  • Choi Joong-ki(Chairman of UMCA Committee) Chairman of Korean Society of Mountain and Mountaineering Research
  • Ahn Chi-woon Former Professor, Hoseo University, Theater Critic
  • Oh Young-hoon Researcher, Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies, Seoul National University
  • Chung Young-mok Professor Emeritus, Seoul National university College of Fine Arts
  • Chung Il-keun Chair Professor, Kyungnam University

UMCA Administrative Committee

  • Christine Pae Vice President of Korea Alpine Federation
  • Albert Lee Publisher of Alpinist Magazine in Korea

UMCA Exhibition

  • Date : 1 Apr (Fri) ~ 10 Apr (Sun)
  • Venue : Welcome Center Square

UMCA Lecture + Q&A

  • Date : 2 Apr (Sat) 14:00 ~ 15:30
  • Venue : Alps Cinema 2

MOVIE #TO_BE + Q&A

  • Date : 3 Apr (Sat) 10:00 ~ 11:30
  • Venue : Alps Cinema 2
  • Guest : Krzysztof Wielicki(Lead Character), Grzegorz Lipiec (Director), Maja Pietraszewska-Koper (Producer)

영화정보

푸르른 창공을 가르는 거대한 암벽, 그 위에 아름다운 점 하나. 눈 쌓인 알프스의 산들을 발아래 펼쳐놓고 손가락으로 암벽의 미세한 틈을 더듬으며 수직 상승하는 캐서린 데스티벨. 창공을 향한 더듬음, 그것은 두 손과 두 발이 한 걸음 나아가는데 온 삶을 바치는 ‘의식’이다. 한 인간이 전력으로 살아온 삶의 무게가 그 손끝에, 엄지발가락 끄트머리에 가볍게 얹혀있다. 겨우내 농축된 생명의 무게를 가장 먼저 가볍게 툭 피워내는 매화처럼 거대한 암벽에 아름다운 점을 찍는 캐서린 데스티벨을 만나보자. (이상은)

Stephen Venables Interview

“Thank you very much for nominating me. I feel very honored. And slightly embarrassed to be followed on from people like Diemberger and Bonington!”

1. How does it feel to come to Korea after 5 years?

I am really looking forward to returning to Korea, as I remember well our wonderful welcome and enthusiastic audience last time. But I am particularly pleased this time to be coming in the autumn, when your wonderful forests will look incredibly beautiful and it will be cool enough to enjoy some of your fine granite rock climbs.

2. How have you been doing since then? What kind of exploratory activities did you do during COVID-19?

When the big Covid-19 panic broke out in March 2019 I was aboard Pelagic Australis sailing back from the Antarctic Peninsula to Chile. I was only just able to fly back to Spain and then got the last flight from Spain to Britain. I then spent a very pleasant spring, enjoying beautiful weather in Edinburgh and doing little rock climbs in the royal park of Holyrood, just beside our apartment. Since the end of lockdowns, I have been enjoying the mountains and sea cliffs of Scotland and last September, with my colleague Skip Novak, I led a team on a ski traverse across the mountains of South Georgia.

3. What are you going to lecture about at UMFF?

I have not decided yet, but I will try to include some of the best moments from 50 years of mountaineering around the world. And I will certainly took a bit about the wonderful island of South Georgia, where I have made ten expeditions, and which is the subject of the film ‘A Southern Quest’.

4. Which mountain film have you seen that impressed you the most?

‘The Long Hope’ is a fairly recent film about Britain’s biggest sea cliff, on the island of Hoy, in the far north of Scotland. It is an immense precipice of very scary sandstone, with vomiting fulmars (a European sea bird) adding to the danger. The first ascent by Ed Drummond and Oliver Hill, in the sixties, took several days, and involved some precarious aid climbing. Five decades later, Scotland’s rock climber, Dave MacLeod managed to climb the route completely free, in a single day. it was an astonishing piece of climbing. What I liked about the film was its sense of history - using archive photos and interviews from the sixties ascent - combined with the excitement of Dave’s modern ascent. It was a well told story, full of human emotion.

5. How big is the audience for mountain films in the UK? Do people in the UK enjoy watching mountain films?

Good mountain films are very, very rarely shown on mainstream television here. However, they are popular with a specialist audience at film festivals like the Kendal Mountain Festival.

6. Climbing the East Face of Everest in 1988 is probably your greatest memory. This year is the 70th anniversary of Everest's first ascent, and there are over 150 Everest summitter in Korea. What does Everest mean to you as a mountaineer?

I feel a special connection with the 70th anniversary, because we were the official 35th anniversary expedition and John Hunt - leader in 1953 - was our Honorary Leader in 1988. He became a good friend and I also got to know nearly all the other members of the 1953 team and, although I never met Tenzing Norgay, I have got to know several of his relatives. So I fell a personal connection with the mountain and I have very fond memories of our own climb in 1988. We were not good enough to climb in pure alpine style, but by using fixed ropes we came back alive! I was lucky enough to join an outstanding team - just four people, unsupported, on the the biggest face on the world’s highest mountain.

7. What would you like to say to your fans in Korea who are waiting for you?

I am looking forward very much to meeting you!