Cinema Astra, Piazza Cesare Beccaria 9, Florence (T. 340 4551859 – active during cinema opening hours).
Wild Gardens
Wild Gardens he comes back with his 3rd winter edition 2026a film festival dedicated to the mountains as a space for exploration, encounter and storytelling. Twelve movie evenings lead the public between extraordinary adventures, dreams, obsessions and extreme undertakingsbut also inside simple and difficult livesmarked by a deep and authentic relationship with the high altitude territories.
The mountain is the protagonist not only as an extreme environment, but as cultural and human placecrossroads of stories, traditions and worldviews. The films on the program offer intense and emotional stories from the big screendesigned for curious people, attentive to the nuances of exploration and the different cultures that inhabit mountain landscapes.
The review takes place between Florence, Prato, Scandicci and Sesto Fiorentino. The program opens at Lastra a Signa Tuesday 20 January and ends at Sesto Fiorentino Thursday 26 Marchaccompanying the public throughout the winter on a cinematic journey through nature, adventure and humanity.
A project curated by the sections Cai of Florence, Prato, Scandicci and Sesto Fiorentino together with Stensen Cultural Foundation. In collaboration with House of Cinema in Prato, Grotto multiplex e Friends of Cabiria Association. And with: Municipality of Lastra a Signa and Trento Film Festival.
Click here for the complete program >>>
Locations of the event:
- Astra Cinema – Piazza Beccaria 9, Florence
- Cinema Terminal – Via Carbonaia 31, Prato
- Cinema Theater of the Arts – Via Giacomo Matteotti 8, Lastra a Signa
- Cabiria Cinema – Piazza Piave 2, Scandicci
- Cave Cinema – Via A. Gramsci 387, Sesto Fiorentino
Prices and entry methods:
- Full ticket: € 8,00
- Reduced CAI members: € 5,00
- In Scandicci (Cinema Cabiria): entrance reserved for CAI members and Friends of Cabiria €4.00
The program of screenings at Cinema Astra:
Monday 9 February at 9.00pm – Florence, Cinema Astra
100 Solleder Lettenbauer by Emanuele Confortin (Italy 2025, 50′)
The documentary tells the story of one hundred years of the historic route on the north-west face of the Civetta, opened in 1925 and which has become a symbol of the birth of the VI grade. A documentary that intertwines history, testimonies and the repetition of the itinerary. The narrative alternates archive material with the testimonies of some of the main protagonists in the history of the Civetta, yesterday and today.
With the presence of director Emanuele Confortin and other guests.
Tuesday 24 February at 9.00pm – Florence, Cinema Astra
Andrea by Maxime Moulin (France 2024, 42′)
Nina Caprez, climbing icon, sets off on the most exciting adventure of her career, accompanied by her partner Jérémy Bernard, extreme sports photographer, and their daughter Lia. The family embarks on a trip to Morocco for a very personal project, a truck (Andrea) equipped with a climbing wall: an idea in motion, a space for meeting and sharing. This truck doesn’t just haul a wall; carries a vision: that of a world in which every encounter reshapes the contours of humanity. Nina and Jérémy do not aim to climb the most prestigious peaks. Their ambition lies elsewhere: to build walls of dream heights, where hope seems to be lacking, and to demonstrate that sometimes the most impressive ascents begin at the foot of forgotten walls.
Monday 16 March at 9.00pm – Florence, Cinema Astra
Adra by Emma Crome (UK 2023, ’53)
Llanberis is a gem in the heart of North Wales, and the epicenter of climbing in the UK. This small village and its surroundings have influenced the lives of many, and from its mountains, quarries and cliffs, which are home to some of the best climbing routes in the world, a climbing culture has developed that rivals that of Chamonix or Yosemite in importance. Zoe Wood and Lewis Perrin Williams, two local climbers, take us on a nostalgic journey, exploring how Llanberis has influenced the lives of climbers over the last century. Through interviews and archive material with some of the most important figures in British climbing, ADRA subtly gives us a sense of home, community and belonging.
Dropping Molly by Cedar Wright (USA 2024.30)
Molly Mitchell’s daring journey to climb “Crank-it”, one of the most dangerous routes in Colorado. After a fall while climbing, Molly must deal with her precarious mental health and embarks on a journey of therapy, self-discovery and growth. Why do climbers risk their lives for a climb? Molly wonders. Will he ever return to the route where the injury occurred? An unforgettable, heartbreaking film, at the same time hilarious and moving.
The rest of the program:
Tuesday 20 January at 9.00pm – Lastra a Signa, Cinema Theater of the Arts
The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft by Werner Herzog (Switzerland, UK, USA, France 2022, 84′)
At 3.18pm on June 3, 1991, a pyroclastic flow – a cloud of incandescent gas and materials – descended at more than 150 kilometers per hour from the top of the Unzen volcano in Japan, destroying everything in its path. It instantly killed Katia and Maurice Krafft, legendary French volcanologists and filmmakers. They were too close. They were almost always too close. The Kraffts left behind an archive of over 200 hours of footage, unprecedented in its spectacular and hypnotic beauty. Werner Herzog had access to the entire material, and created a one-of-a-kind film. It’s not a biography. It is a requiem that celebrates the memory of Katia and Maurice Krafft.
Thursday 22 January at 9.00pm – Sesto Fiorentino, Cinema Grotta
K2 – The great controversy on Reinhold Messner (Italy 2025, 67′)
Through evocative archive images and an intense narrative, Messner reconstructs the events that led to the conquest of the second highest peak in the world, highlighting the tensions and controversies that followed. The film focuses in particular on the figure of Walter Bonatti, a young mountaineer involved in the expedition, who for years was at the center of accusations and controversies. Messner offers a rereading of the events, underlining how solidarity between climbing partners can turn into conflict and how the truth can be clouded by interests and rivalries.
Thursday 5 February at 9.00pm – Prato, Cinema Terminale
La Restanza: Mountain stories between Tuscany and Emilia by Francesco Tomè (Italy 2024, 53′)
A journey into the high lands between the Apuan Alps and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines where some choose to stay or move, defying abandonment for the love of the mountains. Between slow rhythms, agricultural work and the absence of services, the Restanza becomes an act of silent and radical resistance. A raw and unfiltered story that gives voice to those who have chosen life at altitude as a common good to defend.
Tuesday 17 February at 9.00pm – Lastra a Signa, Cinema Theater of the Arts
The blue planet by Franco Piavoli (Italy 1982, 88′) – restored
The film tells the story of a year of life on planet earth. The four seasons follow one another but, with the editing of images and sounds, the time of the film merges into that of a single day. A visual and sound poem that offers an unprecedented experience on nature, man, life.
Wolf arithmetic by Alessandro Ingaria (Italy 2018, 38′)
A film that tells, through the words of three passionate researchers, the theme of the spontaneous return of the wolf to the Alps, in the places where, in the past, it had been present and protagonist.
“The wolf is always represented as subtraction. Those who deal with this animal, especially its detractors, often see it as an element that takes something away. Instead the moral of this documentary is that there is no moral. The wolf is neither addition nor subtraction. It simply does its job, we give it a lot of features”.
Thursday 19 February at 9.00pm – Sesto Fiorentino, Cinema Grotta
I’ll take you by Chris Karcher, Terry Parish (USA, Spain 2017, 100′)
An intimate portrait and an epic journey that explores the true meaning of friendship and the power of community. I’ll Carry You is not just the story of a “normally” able-bodied man who pushes a “differently” able-bodied man in a wheelchair for 800 kilometres. It is also the story of two friends who have spent the entire time of their journey “pushing” each other to be better people. Through their courage and dignity, Justin and Patrick remind us that we are stronger together than alone. At the end of the day, we all need a boost.
Thursday 5 March at 9.00pm – Prato, Cinema Terminale
Monte Corno – It seemed like I was in the air by Luca Cococcetta (Italy 2024, 72′)
On 19 August 1573 Francesco De Marchi climbed, with a small expedition, the impervious and rocky peak of the Corno Grande, on the Gran Sasso, achieving an epic feat for his time: reaching a peak out of curiosity to climb what he believed to be the highest mountain in Italy. Narrated in Francesco De Marchi’s own words, with a detailed reconstruction, the film recounts the climb through spectacular images of the climb up the limestone rock of Corno Grande.
Thursday 12 March at 9.00pm – Scandicci, Cinema Cabiria*
Between Nature and Altitude, Giovanni Storti survives in the Apuan Alps by Manuel Zarpellon, Giorgia Lorenzato (Italy 2025, 70′)
Giovanni Storti takes us to the Apuan Alps, between biodiversity and safety in the mountains. An opportunity to ironically discover a wild territory and reflect on the problems that threaten its conservation. Created in collaboration with the Italian Alpine Club, it aims to offer a tool which, with the right balance between lightness and depth, helps the public to rediscover the magic of biodiversity in our mountains, but also to become aware of the delicate issue of safety in the mountains, especially in this moment of great change for the territory.
*access to the screening with a CAI card or Amici del Cabiria card
Thursday 19 March at 9.00pm – Prato, Cinema Terminale
Hermann Buhl: beyond any peak at Werner Bertolan (Italy 2025, 60′)
On 3 July 1953 Hermann Buhl accomplished perhaps the greatest feat in the history of mountaineering: in 41 hours of border crossing, he became the first person to climb an eight-thousander solo and without a scuba tank: Nanga Parbat. Alexander Huber, himself a star of mountaineering and a great admirer of Buhl, takes us to know the important stages of Buhl’s life through exciting re-enactments, also exploring the personal aspects that characterized him as a person and a mountaineer.
Thursday 26 March at 9.00pm – Sesto Fiorentino, Cinema Grotta
Extraordinary by Giorgia Lazzarini (Italy 2025, 80′)
This documentary is about six women who have chosen to embark on a meaningful life path. They are refugees, extraordinary women who have chosen to live and work at high altitude, in an environment where the conditions are not always favourable, they are looking for their place in the world, finding strength and determination. With their commitment and dedication they become the custodians of these wonderful places, demonstrating the strength and courage of women in a role traditionally associated with men..
