Cholitas, Winners of the 14th Mountain Film Festival

Cholitas, Bolivian housewives, cooks, and a teacher, wives of mountain guides, embark on a unique expedition where they aim to climb Aconcagua, the highest peak in America, and prove that they are free and strong. They step beyond the boundaries of traditional women's lives in the Andes, but even during the ascent, they are dressed in traditional colorful clothing. They are not just climbers, but above all courageous women who feel alive, happy, and free in the mountains. And so they dream of "the day when the Cholitas touched the sky", thereby telling the wider community never to stop dreaming, because that is a big step on the path to the goal.



The story with a capital letter not only enthralled the audience but also the jury of the 14th Mountain Film Festival, which crowned the film by Spanish directors Jaime Murciega and Pablo Iraburu as the winner. "The film Cholitas is not only an exceptionally dramatically and technically sophisticated film story, but above all a sensitive story of a group of Bolivian women from the Aymara people who decided on a life change. The summit of Aconcagua thus becomes a fight for emancipation from harsh everyday life, and at the same time a voice for all indigenous peoples of Latin America. Aconcagua rises not only as a metaphor for a new life based on deep knowledge of nature, but also as a means for a better life for indigenous peoples. Emotions, success, tension, deep faith, and ultimately humor outside the comfort zone are not lacking. Beautifully captured perfect dramatic masterpiece of success," explained the international jury, consisting of former president of the American Alpine Club and mountaineer Jim Donini, director and journalist Vida Valenčič, and filmmaker and photographer Rožle Bregar.



After three practically sold-out screenings of one of the most anticipated films at the 14th Mountain Film Festival in Ljubljana, Radovljica, and Domžale, there will be an additional screening of the award-winning film Cholitas on Thursday, March 5, at 8 p.m. in Linhart Hall of Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana.



Invited to an unforgettable climbing and life film adventure!