Back to the Breithorn is a 30-minute Italian documentary directed by Dario Tubaldo and Luca Cusani. The film belongs to the documentary genre and stems from a personal experience connected to extreme sport, specifically snowboard mountaineering, a discipline combining snowboarding and mountaineering in high-altitude environments.
The film begins with a dramatic event in 2014, when director Dario Tubaldo, while filming a documentary about snowboard mountaineering, was caught in an avalanche in the Italian mountains. Miraculously unharmed, ten years later Tubaldo decides to return to the site of the accident to reflect, through a personal and collective journey, on the relationship between humankind and the mountains, risk and beauty.
He is joined in this exploration by three key figures from the mountain world:
- Stefano Fontanelle, a pioneer of snowboard mountaineering in the Aosta Valley,
- Ettore Personnettaz, an Aosta Valley freerider specialising in extreme splitboard descents,
- Shanty Cipolli, a young mountain guide from the Aosta Valley.
The documentary interweaves dialogue, excursions and personal reflections, showing how practising sport in extreme environments is not merely a physical activity but an existential experience involving awareness, risk and a profound connection with nature. Its central message is an invitation to responsibility and respect for the mountains, as well as to the search for meaning through sport and sharing.
Produced by Dario Tubaldo with a budget of EUR 20,000, Back to the Breithorn is not a student project and is the result of collaboration among industry professionals. The film was completed on 15 October 2024.
Film Information
Title: Back to the Breithorn
Direction: Dario Tubaldo, Luca Cusani
Production: Dario Tubaldo
Country: Italy
Language: Italian
Running time: 30 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Sport featured: Snowboard mountaineering
Main subject(s): Dario Tubaldo, Stefano Fontanelle, Ettore Personnettaz, Shanty Cipolli
Completion date: 15 October 2024
Premiere: [Information not available]
Distributor: [Information not available]
Shooting format: Full HD, 16:9, colour
Director's first film: No
Student project: No