“…The most stimulating aspect of Climbing the Elixir is how in this case men are submitted to the territory and not vice-versa. Thereby merging with the isolation of the mountains between Baunei, Urzulei and Dorgali, following a simple and basic diet of pastoral products and facing the dangerous life of the steep mountains, inhabitants have turned into a vital outgrowth  of landscape, appropriating a portion of eternity possessed by nature and remained untouched over the centuries…”   Film review on TAXIDRIVERS.IT

 

“Climbing the Elixir tells the story of a beautiful and lost Sardinia through the lives of extraordinary characters” Director interview on TAXIDRIVERS.IT

 

Synopsis

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a large island to which nature has given incredible beauty and charm. It is Sardinia. A place where the landscapes of rock and stone alternate forests and desert dunes that slope into a crystalline sea of changing colours, where the scent of helichrysum and cistus reach its visitors and welcome them in a warm and powerful embrace. Among its sub-regions, Ogliastra is certainly one of the most fascinating. A mountainous area whose limestone ridges create the famous Supramonte, a mountainous complex that plunges into one of the most beautiful seas in the world . In these rugged and wild mountains, two expert hikers have come to know about a characteristic local community that, in the past, developed a series of reckless climbing techniques without harnesses, strategic to manage their flocks of goats and pasture grazing, and useful to move from one point to another of this vast sub calcareous desert more quickly. Thanks to these climbing techniques they were also able find the little water that flowed hidden under the karstic rocks and even cultivate wheat in areas of seemingly unproductive mountains. Precisely in these places, where life is anything but easy, people lived and continue to live today, much longer than in the rest of the world and Ogliastra was therefore included among the 5 Blue Zones of the planet.
Our two hikers, in their exploration, will discover unexpected aspects of the lifestyle of this community and, interacting with the centenarians and their families, will learn about secrets related to their diet, their lifestyle and their social relationships in a place devoted to solitude and observation of nature, and among these they may just find the elixir of long life. Retracing the difficult and sometimes prohibitive paths designed by the goatherds, our two guides will then tell us the story of a special community that lives in one of the most fascinating places in the Mediterranean and the unique events of brave men, whose challenges with nature have created fantastic and enduring legends.

 

DISTRIBUTION

365 Trento Film Festival
Il Circolo della Confusione

Screened at:

Babylon Kino Berlin-Mitte
Apollo 11 – Roma
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Cinema Capuccini Genova
Theater Cinema Paradiso Folgaria TN
Teatro Eliseo of Nuoro
Teatro Massimo of Cagliari

 

FESTIVAL

Trento Film Festival 67esima
IsReal Film Festival – Nuoro
Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival – Sassari
Bansko Film Fest – BulgariaPrice:
Special Mention Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival

 

    Data Sheet

  • Production Produced by Circolo della Confusione
  • Co-Production ISRE Sardegna and co-funded by Film Commission Sardegna
  • Type Documentary
  • Genre Anthropology, Science, Travel, Mountain
  • Duration 80 min.
  • Language Italian, Sardinian language
  • Year 2019
  • Format 4K
  • Projection format DCP, Full HD
  • Audio Stereo
  • Subtitles Italian (OV), English (International Version)

Climbing the elixir Trailer

Synopsis

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a large island to which nature has given incredible beauty and charm. It is Sardinia. A place where the landscapes of rock and stone alternate forests and desert dunes that slope into a crystalline sea of changing colours, where the scent of helichrysum and cistus reach its visitors and welcome them in a warm and powerful embrace. Among its sub-regions, Ogliastra is certainly one of the most fascinating. A mountainous area whose limestone ridges create the famous Supramonte, a mountainous complex that plunges into one of the most beautiful seas in the world . In these rugged and wild mountains, two expert hikers have come to know about a characteristic local community that, in the past, developed a series of reckless climbing techniques without harnesses, strategic to manage their flocks of goats and pasture grazing, and useful to move from one point to another of this vast sub calcareous desert more quickly. Thanks to these climbing techniques they were also able find the little water that flowed hidden under the karstic rocks and even cultivate wheat in areas of seemingly unproductive mountains. Precisely in these places, where life is anything but easy, people lived and continue to live today, much longer than in the rest of the world and Ogliastra was therefore included among the 5 Blue Zones of the planet.
Our two hikers, in their exploration, will discover unexpected aspects of the lifestyle of this community and, interacting with the centenarians and their families, will learn about secrets related to their diet, their lifestyle and their social relationships in a place devoted to solitude and observation of nature, and among these they may just find the elixir of long life. Retracing the difficult and sometimes prohibitive paths designed by the goatherds, our two guides will then tell us the story of a special community that lives in one of the most fascinating places in the Mediterranean and the unique events of brave men, whose challenges with nature have created fantastic and enduring legends.

 

DISTRIBUTION

365 Trento Film Festival
Il Circolo della Confusione

Screened at:

Babylon Kino Berlin-Mitte
Apollo 11 – Roma
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Cinema Capuccini Genova
Theater Cinema Paradiso Folgaria TN
Teatro Eliseo of Nuoro
Teatro Massimo of Cagliari

 

FESTIVAL

Trento Film Festival 67esima
IsReal Film Festival – Nuoro
Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival – Sassari
Bansko Film Fest – BulgariaPrice:
Special Mention Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival

 

WHERE TO FIND IT

S´Orchestra in Limba, aims to highlight the phonetic variations of the Sardinian language and minority languages present in Sardinia. The characters tell us about their culture, legends, myths and traditions, confirming the fascinating power of oral tradition in Sardinian.
It offers us an extraordinary journey through the linguistic complexity of Sardinia. The attached DVD, lasting over eighty minutes, contains seven episodes where the many people interviewed, put at ease by director Monica Dovarch, talk and tell about them and the world around them.
In the book we find the complete transcriptions of the interviews and a precise linguistic analysis by Simone Pisano that examines the particular phonetic complexity highlighted by the proposed audiovisual material.
The interviews are divided into the following episodes:
[1] Different School of Life
[2] Looking up at the Sky
[3] Carnival
[4] Evil Eye
[5] The boogie Man
[6] The Fright
[7] The Spell

Click here to buy DVD+Book – S’orchestra in Limba, The Series – Condaghes Edition

    Data Sheet

  • Production Produced by Circolo della Confusione
  • Co-Production ISRE Sardegna and co-funded by Film Commission Sardegna
  • Type Documentary
  • Genre Anthropology, Science, Travel, Mountain
  • Duration 80 min.
  • Language Italian, Sardinian language
  • Year 2019
  • Format 4K
  • Projection format DCP, Full HD
  • Audio Stereo
  • Subtitles Italian (OV), English (International Version)

Climbing the elixir Trailer

TAXI DRIVERS.IT

Presented as a world premiere at the 67th Trento Film Festival in the Alp&Ism section, Climbing the Elixir is an interesting document on the mystery of the human being, in which Monica Dovarch’s camera becomes an anthropological time machine that brings a living past to the light of contemporaries.
Read the article in Italian

TAXI DRIVERS.IT

Presented as a world premiere at the 67th Trento Film Festival in the Alp&Ism section, Climbing the Elixir is an interesting document on the mystery of the human being, in which Monica Dovarch’s camera becomes an anthropological time machine that brings a living past to the light of contemporaries.
Read the article in Italian

Synopsis

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a large island to which nature has given incredible beauty and charm. It is Sardinia. A place where the landscapes of rock and stone alternate forests and desert dunes that slope into a crystalline sea of changing colours, where the scent of helichrysum and cistus reach its visitors and welcome them in a warm and powerful embrace. Among its sub-regions, Ogliastra is certainly one of the most fascinating. A mountainous area whose limestone ridges create the famous Supramonte, a mountainous complex that plunges into one of the most beautiful seas in the world . In these rugged and wild mountains, two expert hikers have come to know about a characteristic local community that, in the past, developed a series of reckless climbing techniques without harnesses, strategic to manage their flocks of goats and pasture grazing, and useful to move from one point to another of this vast sub calcareous desert more quickly. Thanks to these climbing techniques they were also able find the little water that flowed hidden under the karstic rocks and even cultivate wheat in areas of seemingly unproductive mountains. Precisely in these places, where life is anything but easy, people lived and continue to live today, much longer than in the rest of the world and Ogliastra was therefore included among the 5 Blue Zones of the planet.
Our two hikers, in their exploration, will discover unexpected aspects of the lifestyle of this community and, interacting with the centenarians and their families, will learn about secrets related to their diet, their lifestyle and their social relationships in a place devoted to solitude and observation of nature, and among these they may just find the elixir of long life. Retracing the difficult and sometimes prohibitive paths designed by the goatherds, our two guides will then tell us the story of a special community that lives in one of the most fascinating places in the Mediterranean and the unique events of brave men, whose challenges with nature have created fantastic and enduring legends.

 

    Data Sheet

  • Production Produced by Circolo della Confusione
  • Co-Production ISRE Sardegna and co-funded by Film Commission Sardegna
  • Type Documentary
  • Genre Anthropology, Science, Travel, Mountain
  • Duration 80 min.
  • Language Italian, Sardinian language
  • Year 2019
  • Format 4K
  • Projection format DCP, Full HD
  • Audio Stereo
  • Subtitles Italian (OV), English (International Version)

DISTRIBUTION

365 Trento Film Festival
Il Circolo della Confusione

Screened at:

Babylon Kino Berlin-Mitte
Apollo 11 – Roma
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Cinema Capuccini Genova
Theater Cinema Paradiso Folgaria TN
Teatro Eliseo of Nuoro
Teatro Massimo of Cagliari

 

FESTIVAL

Trento Film Festival 67esima
IsReal Film Festival – Nuoro
Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival – Sassari
Bansko Film Fest – BulgariaPrice:
Special Mention Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival

 

Climbing the elixir Trailer

Synopsis

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a large island to which nature has given incredible beauty and charm. It is Sardinia. A place where the landscapes of rock and stone alternate forests and desert dunes that slope into a crystalline sea of changing colours, where the scent of helichrysum and cistus reach its visitors and welcome them in a warm and powerful embrace. Among its sub-regions, Ogliastra is certainly one of the most fascinating. A mountainous area whose limestone ridges create the famous Supramonte, a mountainous complex that plunges into one of the most beautiful seas in the world . In these rugged and wild mountains, two expert hikers have come to know about a characteristic local community that, in the past, developed a series of reckless climbing techniques without harnesses, strategic to manage their flocks of goats and pasture grazing, and useful to move from one point to another of this vast sub calcareous desert more quickly. Thanks to these climbing techniques they were also able find the little water that flowed hidden under the karstic rocks and even cultivate wheat in areas of seemingly unproductive mountains. Precisely in these places, where life is anything but easy, people lived and continue to live today, much longer than in the rest of the world and Ogliastra was therefore included among the 5 Blue Zones of the planet.
Our two hikers, in their exploration, will discover unexpected aspects of the lifestyle of this community and, interacting with the centenarians and their families, will learn about secrets related to their diet, their lifestyle and their social relationships in a place devoted to solitude and observation of nature, and among these they may just find the elixir of long life. Retracing the difficult and sometimes prohibitive paths designed by the goatherds, our two guides will then tell us the story of a special community that lives in one of the most fascinating places in the Mediterranean and the unique events of brave men, whose challenges with nature have created fantastic and enduring legends.

 

DISTRIBUTION

365 Trento Film Festival
Il Circolo della Confusione

Screened at:

Babylon Kino Berlin-Mitte
Apollo 11 – Roma
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Cinema Capuccini Genova
Theater Cinema Paradiso Folgaria TN
Teatro Eliseo of Nuoro
Teatro Massimo of Cagliari

 

FESTIVAL

Trento Film Festival 67esima
IsReal Film Festival – Nuoro
Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival – Sassari
Bansko Film Fest – BulgariaPrice:
Special Mention Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival

 

    Data Sheet

  • Production Produced by Circolo della Confusione
  • Co-Production ISRE Sardegna and co-funded by Film Commission Sardegna
  • Type Documentary
  • Genre Anthropology, Science, Travel, Mountain
  • Duration 80 min.
  • Language Italian, Sardinian language
  • Year 2019
  • Format 4K
  • Projection format DCP, Full HD
  • Audio Stereo
  • Subtitles Italian (OV), English (International Version)

Climbing the elixir Trailer

Synopsis

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a large island to which nature has given incredible beauty and charm. It is Sardinia. A place where the landscapes of rock and stone alternate forests and desert dunes that slope into a crystalline sea of changing colours, where the scent of helichrysum and cistus reach its visitors and welcome them in a warm and powerful embrace. Among its sub-regions, Ogliastra is certainly one of the most fascinating. A mountainous area whose limestone ridges create the famous Supramonte, a mountainous complex that plunges into one of the most beautiful seas in the world . In these rugged and wild mountains, two expert hikers have come to know about a characteristic local community that, in the past, developed a series of reckless climbing techniques without harnesses, strategic to manage their flocks of goats and pasture grazing, and useful to move from one point to another of this vast sub calcareous desert more quickly. Thanks to these climbing techniques they were also able find the little water that flowed hidden under the karstic rocks and even cultivate wheat in areas of seemingly unproductive mountains. Precisely in these places, where life is anything but easy, people lived and continue to live today, much longer than in the rest of the world and Ogliastra was therefore included among the 5 Blue Zones of the planet.
Our two hikers, in their exploration, will discover unexpected aspects of the lifestyle of this community and, interacting with the centenarians and their families, will learn about secrets related to their diet, their lifestyle and their social relationships in a place devoted to solitude and observation of nature, and among these they may just find the elixir of long life. Retracing the difficult and sometimes prohibitive paths designed by the goatherds, our two guides will then tell us the story of a special community that lives in one of the most fascinating places in the Mediterranean and the unique events of brave men, whose challenges with nature have created fantastic and enduring legends.

 

DISTRIBUTION

365 Trento Film Festival
Il Circolo della Confusione

Screened at:

Babylon Kino Berlin-Mitte
Apollo 11 – Roma
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Cinema Capuccini Genova
Theater Cinema Paradiso Folgaria TN
Teatro Eliseo of Nuoro
Teatro Massimo of Cagliari

 

FESTIVAL

Trento Film Festival 67esima
IsReal Film Festival – Nuoro
Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival – Sassari
Bansko Film Fest – BulgariaPrice:
Special Mention Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival

 

Climbing the elixir Trailer

Synopsis

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a large island to which nature has given incredible beauty and charm. It is Sardinia. A place where the landscapes of rock and stone alternate forests and desert dunes that slope into a crystalline sea of changing colours, where the scent of helichrysum and cistus reach its visitors and welcome them in a warm and powerful embrace. Among its sub-regions, Ogliastra is certainly one of the most fascinating. A mountainous area whose limestone ridges create the famous Supramonte, a mountainous complex that plunges into one of the most beautiful seas in the world . In these rugged and wild mountains, two expert hikers have come to know about a characteristic local community that, in the past, developed a series of reckless climbing techniques without harnesses, strategic to manage their flocks of goats and pasture grazing, and useful to move from one point to another of this vast sub calcareous desert more quickly. Thanks to these climbing techniques they were also able find the little water that flowed hidden under the karstic rocks and even cultivate wheat in areas of seemingly unproductive mountains. Precisely in these places, where life is anything but easy, people lived and continue to live today, much longer than in the rest of the world and Ogliastra was therefore included among the 5 Blue Zones of the planet.
Our two hikers, in their exploration, will discover unexpected aspects of the lifestyle of this community and, interacting with the centenarians and their families, will learn about secrets related to their diet, their lifestyle and their social relationships in a place devoted to solitude and observation of nature, and among these they may just find the elixir of long life. Retracing the difficult and sometimes prohibitive paths designed by the goatherds, our two guides will then tell us the story of a special community that lives in one of the most fascinating places in the Mediterranean and the unique events of brave men, whose challenges with nature have created fantastic and enduring legends.

 

DISTRIBUTION

365 Trento Film Festival
Il Circolo della Confusione

Screened at:

Babylon Kino Berlin-Mitte
Apollo 11 – Roma
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Cinema Capuccini Genova
Theater Cinema Paradiso Folgaria TN
Teatro Eliseo of Nuoro
Teatro Massimo of Cagliari

 

FESTIVAL

Trento Film Festival 67esima
IsReal Film Festival – Nuoro
Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival – Sassari
Bansko Film Fest – BulgariaPrice:
Special Mention Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival

 

Climbing the elixir Trailer

Synopsis

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a large island to which nature has given incredible beauty and charm. It is Sardinia. A place where the landscapes of rock and stone alternate forests and desert dunes that slope into a crystalline sea of changing colours, where the scent of helichrysum and cistus reach its visitors and welcome them in a warm and powerful embrace. Among its sub-regions, Ogliastra is certainly one of the most fascinating. A mountainous area whose limestone ridges create the famous Supramonte, a mountainous complex that plunges into one of the most beautiful seas in the world . In these rugged and wild mountains, two expert hikers have come to know about a characteristic local community that, in the past, developed a series of reckless climbing techniques without harnesses, strategic to manage their flocks of goats and pasture grazing, and useful to move from one point to another of this vast sub calcareous desert more quickly. Thanks to these climbing techniques they were also able find the little water that flowed hidden under the karstic rocks and even cultivate wheat in areas of seemingly unproductive mountains. Precisely in these places, where life is anything but easy, people lived and continue to live today, much longer than in the rest of the world and Ogliastra was therefore included among the 5 Blue Zones of the planet.
Our two hikers, in their exploration, will discover unexpected aspects of the lifestyle of this community and, interacting with the centenarians and their families, will learn about secrets related to their diet, their lifestyle and their social relationships in a place devoted to solitude and observation of nature, and among these they may just find the elixir of long life. Retracing the difficult and sometimes prohibitive paths designed by the goatherds, our two guides will then tell us the story of a special community that lives in one of the most fascinating places in the Mediterranean and the unique events of brave men, whose challenges with nature have created fantastic and enduring legends.

 

DISTRIBUTION

365 Trento Film Festival
Il Circolo della Confusione

Screened at:

Babylon Kino Berlin-Mitte
Apollo 11 – Roma
Postmodernissimo Perugia
Cinema Capuccini Genova
Theater Cinema Paradiso Folgaria TN
Teatro Eliseo of Nuoro
Teatro Massimo of Cagliari

 

FESTIVAL

Trento Film Festival 67esima
IsReal Film Festival – Nuoro
Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival – Sassari
Bansko Film Fest – BulgariaPrice:
Special Mention Fiorenzo Serra Film Festival

 

    Data Sheet

  • Production Produced by Circolo della Confusione
  • Co-Production ISRE Sardegna and co-funded by Film Commission Sardegna
  • Type Documentary
  • Genre Anthropology, Science, Travel, Mountain
  • Duration 80 min.
  • Language Italian, Sardinian language
  • Year 2019
  • Format 4K
  • Projection format DCP, Full HD
  • Audio Stereo
  • Subtitles Italian (OV), English (International Version)

Climbing the elixir Trailer