NOMEN EST OMEN, or – the birth of the Mountain Women’s Talk

Inspired by the great film premieres of my #shadesofwinter films of the past years – the world premiere of BETWEEN 2016 in the sold-out auditorium of BMW Welt in Munich, a great Austrian premiere in Hangar7, screenings in NY, Boulder, Whistler and many more – I have created the #shadesofwinter FilmFest in 2018. A touring FilmFest which started in autumn 2019 with 9 stops in 5 countries, 9 films and 12 female athletes and filmmakers from all over the world in the 2nd round and offers a platform for the constantly growing number of great films of female outdoor athletes.

During the preparation for the kick-off of the #shadesofwinter FilmFest 2019 the idea for a Pre-FilmFest single was born. A “Get-Together”, a kind of “Meet & Greet” between female athletes, filmmakers, partners, like-minded people and the visitors of the FilmFest. Since the word “mingle” is hip and my favorite city Stockholm is teeming with various after-work and pre-dinner places to mingle, but according to Wikipedia DE one, quote – “is a word creation from the English terms “mixed” and “single”, meaning that you are “officially” single, but at the same time temporarily in a relationship-like state” – it soon became clear that I would probably not organize a Pre-FilmFest MINGLE at the BMW World Munich….

Women who like to be in the mountains and exchange ideas – suddenly I had found the name for our “Get-Together”: Mountain Women’s Talk. And only little by little did I realize that I had opened a whole new door with the word TALK, that it wasn’t just a “mingle” where everyone stood together and philosophized about the upcoming winter and the newest ski boots, but that I would ask my 9 present athletes and filmmakers to come and talk. The name became the program:

150 women aged 18-50+ accepted the invitation to the first Mountain Women’s Talk presented by BERGZEIT which offered insights into the lives of the athletes and filmmakers in the form of a 1.5 hour panel discussion, moderated by Katharina Kestler from the Munich Mountain Girls and me.

The Mountain Women’s Talk, which was actually only intended as a SIDE event for the FilmFest, was a great success. And for me it was a great motivation to think beyond, to develop the format further. The result is digital and interactive and freely accessible to everyone – on 17 December 2020 at 19.30 – LIVE from Gastein.

I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of people who will be there.

Sandra Lahnsteiner