Alex Bellini on rivers of plastic
An evening event on 29 August, organised by the Trento Film Festival and the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, also featured a special contribution by Alex Bellini, who issued an appeal for awareness among those living in a World Heritage Site. The explorer crossed two oceans and walked for thousands of kilometres along the polar ice, before embarking on his “10 Rivers 1 Ocean” project. Travelling on boats made from waste materials, Alex has been navigating the ten most plastic-polluted rivers on our planet to raise awareness about this urgent problem.
The video interview was made for “Noi Dolomiti UNESCO” (We are the UNESCO Dolomites).
Evenings focused on our World Heritage
The collaboration between the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation and the Trento Film Festival has once again produced some very significant events. In addition to the live streaming with Alex Bellini, there was also the “UNESCO Dolomites” special prize, jointly awarded by the Foundation and the S.A.T., which this year went to the film “Vulnerabile Bellezza” (Vulnerable Beauty) by Manuele Mandolesi (Italy, 2019). The jury gave the reasons for their choice: “This is a story of a young family who lived through the earthquake in Central Italy in 2016, but then decided to stay on their land and rebuild their lives, despite all the many difficulties they faced. It provides us with yet another reminder that we cannot dictate the rules to nature, but must treat it with respect, developing a relationship of mutual benefit.”
Another event organised by the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation took place in Mazzin di Fassa. It was dedicated to Tom Ballard, the mountaineer who died on Nanga Parbat on 25 February 2019 together with his climbing partner, Daniele Nardi. The event was called “I’m not alone, I’m with the mountains”, the words of Ballard himself. Fausta Slanzi introduced the evening, and there followed greetings from Romano Stanchina, manager of the provincial work group of the UNESCO Dolomites and Marcella Morandini, the Foundation’s director. Guests then heard accounts by Stefania Pederiva, Ballard’s girlfriend and partner on many ascents in the Dolomites; by the climber Bruno Pederiva (Stefania’s father); by Manolo (Maurizio Zanolla) and by the directors Elena Goatelli and Angel Esteban Vega, who made the film about the British climber. His memory was also evoked in music by the accordionist Margherita Berlanda, and paintings by the artist Riccarda De Eccher.