Ladek Mountain Festival (Polish name: Festiwal Górski im. Andrzeja Zawady w Lądku-Zdroju) is the largest and the oldest event of its kind in Poland and one the most important in the world.

Among our speakers were the biggest names of the climbing and mountaineering community. We also hosted the Piolets d'Or Award Ceremonies for 3 years, 2018-2020.
Each year a couple of thousand enthusiasts of the mountain sports and outdoor adventures come in September to a little town of Ladek in the southwest of Poland (very close to Czech Republic and Germany) to participate in this gathering.

The Film Competition is one of the main axes of the festival, along with the Book Contest, key speakers’ presentations, lectures, outdoor workshops and music events.
This year's edition will be, as always, full of films from all around the world, meetings with filmmakers, networking opportunities, inspiration and good vibes.

We warmly invite you to share your mountain film with the Polish audience.
Also, come and join us in person!

2022 line-up:
https://festiwalgorski2022.sched.com/directory/artists

2022 awards:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/best-mountain-movies-2022/

2022 slideshow:
https://youtu.be/ZGeOU2wMA44

2022 Film Competition Awards:

Grand Prize - 12 000 PLN - A White Dream

Best Film About Climbing - 2000 PLN - The Way

Best Film About Mountaineering - 500 EUR - The Last Mountain. Story of Tom Ballard

Best Film About Man & Mountains - 500 EUR - Cows on the Roof

Best Film About Mountain Sports - 500 EUR - An Accidental Life

Best Film About Adventure and Exploration - 2500 PLN - House of the Gods

Best Polish Film - 500 EUR - The Way

Best Short Film - 500 EUR - Reel Rock 16: Big Things to Come

Honorable Mention - Sonder
Honorable Mention - Reel Rock 16: Barefoot Charles

People’s Choice Award - 2000 PLN - Polonina, My Dream

People’s Choice Award 2nd place - Kosiak
People’s Choice Award 3rd place - A White Dream

2022 Film Competition winners announced:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/best-mountain-movies-2022/

2022 Film Competition Jury:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/jury-konkursu-filmowego-2022/

2021 Film Competition winners announced:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/en/the-best-mountain-movies-we-present-the-verdict-of-the-jury-and-of-the-audience/

2021 Film Competition Jury:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/jury-konkursu-filmowego-2021/

You'll find the detailed rules on our website. In English:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/en/competition-rules-2023/
And in Polish:
https://www.festiwalgorski.pl/regulamin-konkursu-filmowego-2023/

Please read them carefully, as a submission to the Film Competition implies acceptance of all the rules by the entrant. If you have any doubts or questions, don't hesitate to ask: filmy@festiwalgorski.pl.

During the submission process, there's an administration fee to be paid, depending on the film's runtime and the submission date. Shorts are under 40 minutes, feature documentaries are longer than 40 minutes.

This year we accept mountain films produced in 2021, 2022 or 2023 and the “mountain” theme can refer to the mountain environment, mountain culture or more generally, mountain community values.

​File format recommendations: ​full HD​, ​mp4​, h​264​,​ ​bitrate ​around 20 Mbps​, ​AAC Audio Codec​, ​48,000Hz​.​

Only complete submissions will be considered. This includes an online screener, film synopsis and specifications, promotional photos.

2023 Important dates and deadlines:

March 1, 2023 – opening of the submissions
May 31, 2023 – closing of the submissions
July 15, 2023 – notification for the filmmakers about the acceptance to the Film Competition of the submitted titles
August 1, 2023 – last day for the film representatives to let us know whether they will come to the festival
September 7 to 10, 2023 – screenings at the Ladek Mountain Festival in-person event
September 7 to 30, 2023 – online screenings
September 12, 2023 – announcement of the Film Competition winners at the festival’s website and FB page

In the selection process, the priority will be given to the films that haven't been and won't be available online for free before September 11, 2023.

The film representative of the title accepted to the Film Competition will be invited to attend the festival. It is usually one per film, can be a filmmaker or a protagonist.
They will have the opportunity to introduce the film on stage and to do the Q&A after the screening. We do not cover the flight / travel expenses, but we'll be happy to provide the film representative with a Festival VIP Pass, access to all the festival events and board & accommodation for the days of the event.

Unless decided otherwise by the entrant during the submission process, the title selected for the Film Competition will also be part of the online festival, September 7 to 30, 2023. Filmygorskie.pl offers a protected DRM streaming, with access granted exclusively to the festival's audience with passes, geoblocked to Poland.

We don't pay screening fees for the in-person nor online festival screenings but we do offer a license fee for Ladek Film Tour screenings - see here below.

We invite the films selected for the Film Competition to participate in Ladek Film Tour that starts after the festival. Every year our Tour visits many mountain, outdoor and travel events around the country. Parts of the LFT program are also screened in the cinema venues of the big cities in Poland. The agreements concerning LFT will be discussed separately with the filmmakers and the agreed license fees will be paid.

We look forward to watching your mountain films!

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Bartlomiej Pieklo

    Great festival! I recommend it to everyone.

    September 2022