- Italy
ACHT BERGE
Synopsis
In “Acht Berge” (Italy, 2022), Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch tell of a friendship that lasts a lifetime and yet never stays the same. Summer 1984: eleven-year-old Pietro from Turin spends the holidays with his parents in a near-deserted village in the Italian Alps and meets Bruno, the village’s last child, who lives with his aunt and uncle. Fifteen years later, the death of Pietro’s father brings them back together: on an alpine pasture, they build a house together. But their paths part again – Pietro (Luca Marinelli) writes and travels as far as Nepal, while Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) stays in the mountains.
The Belgian directing duo Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch adapted Paolo Cognetti’s novel, shot by Ruben Impens in the Alps, in Turin and in Nepal, with music by Swedish songwriter Daniel Norgren. The film takes its time – 147 minutes, spanning decades – and lets the landscape be both refuge and isolation. In the Cannes 2022 competition it received the Jury Prize, shared with “EO”; the David di Donatello for best film followed in 2023. “Acht Berge” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2022.
Festival
Shown at the 2022 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
