Ama Dablam, Dreams Unfolded
Silence of the angels is a story about three men and one face. It took place between March and May, 1996, on one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, 6828 meters high Ama Dablam.
After seven days of very demanding climbing, Vanja Furlan and Tomaž Humar managed to overcome the northwest face of Ama Dablam and reach its summit. Their only connection with the valley was Zvonko Požgaj, who monitored their efforts from their base camp. Požgaj used the transmitter to direct and encourage them, while diligently recording and writing down all the events during those dramatic days.
The results of this fantastic expedition have been known for some time. The mountain ascent was named as the greatest world mountaineering achievement in 1996 by the international mountaineering community. Vanja Furlan bade farewell the very same year, while Tomaž Humar met his end on Langtang Lirung in Nepal, 13 years later. At only 19 years of age, Tomaž's son has become the youngest person cycling the globe. He is proud of his father, and also of his legacy: "I hope that one day I will be of the same importance to my son as my father was to me. A role model and someone to be proud of. My father was a man whose dreams were much greater than his fears. He taught me many things, but two of them left an indelible mark upon me. Never yield in your life and don't waste your pride. When you do that, you're left with nothing. And do not stop when the going gets tough. I shall follow this advice in future, too."
This film is a respectful homage to one of the international, greatest achievements of Slovene mountaineering and a memorial to one of the outstanding Slovene mountain climbers, Vanja Furlan.
At the same time, it is a movie about the transiency of life, the passage of time, mortality and memory.
And faith in freedom, power, beauty and the vastness of the human spirit.
The film is dedicated to Vanja Furlan and Tomaž Humar.
-
Igor VrtačnikDirectorPirandello, Transatlantic05, CHASERS OF THE DARK,Overlooked monuments
-
Igor VrtačnikWriterPirandello, Transatlantic05, CHASERS OF THE DARK,Overlooked monuments
-
Igor VrtačnikProducerPirandello, Transatlantic05, CHASERS OF THE DARK ,Overlooked monuments
-
Tomaž HumarKey Cast"climber"
-
Vanja FurlanKey Cast"climber"
-
Tomaž Humar jr.Key Cast"Son of Tomaž Humar, Tomaž's son has become the youngest person cycling the globe"
-
Project Type:Documentary, Feature, Television
-
Runtime:59 minutes
-
Completion Date:December 16, 2017
-
Production Budget:30 USD
-
Country of Origin:Slovenia
-
Country of Filming:Nepal, Slovenia
-
Language:Slovenian
-
Shooting Format:HD digital
-
Aspect Ratio:16:9
-
Film Color:Black & White and Color
-
First-time Filmmaker:No
-
Student Project:No
-
Eho Mountain Film FestivalSkopje
Slovenia
November 19, 2018
Macedonian premiere
Finalist -
11 Festival of mountaineering filmLjubljana
Slovenia
December 17, 2017
World premiere
WINNER - Best climbing film -
11 Festival of mountaineering filmLjubljana
Slovenia
World premiere
WINNER- Best
Distribution Information
-
Film HorizontCountry: SloveniaRights: All Rights, Internet, Video on Demand
Studied at and graduated from the Ljubljana Film Academy. He hasmade sixty documentaries. Directed five short films and one featurefilm - Piranedello - with cinematographer Georgij Rerberg. Rerberg isknown for his work on Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpieces such as The Mirror (1974) and Stalker (1979). For his work he has received manyinternational awards. He is also a passionate sailor and free-climber.
Making a film is a technically complex process and a long journey that requires a lot of collaborators. It's similar to reaching the top. It takes an extremely long time, it's risky, you don't know what it's going to be, you need everyone's trust along the way and a hefty chunk of simple luck. I've made 52 documentaries and one fiction film, but it always starts with the first step. There were Zvonko's book and slides, old analogue slides... There were very few of them, far too few for a film, and of course the story of Vanja Furlan, Tomaž Humar and Zvonko Požgaja, who still knew how to see and live the essence. I knew Zvonko, I knew a lot about Tomaž, like everyone else, but nothing about Vanja! Vanja and Zvonko are exceptional photographers, the portraits of the locals, the landscapes are some of the most beautiful I have seen, and behind each one you feel the author and the beauty of life... Anyone who has climbed knows that mountaineering is not the fanfare, the drums and the spectacle that it is filmed today. It is infinite patience, waiting, silence, concentration. I wanted the film to be the same. And during the making of the film I learnt a lot about Tomaž, Vanja and Zvonko. I learned a lot more along the way than I did, and I thought I knew everything about the film. It was a gift for me too."