Synopsis

UTA – The Climb for Kosovo. In 2017, 34 year-old Uta Ibrahimi became the first person from Kosovo to attempt Everest. Born and raised in eastern Kosovo, her childhood was interrupted by a fierce ethnic war that ripped the heart out of the Balkan nation. Battling against Kosovo’s entrenched gender stereotypes and misogyny within the climbing community, Uta climbed the highest peaks in Kosovo, and then Europe. But her dream was always ‘to be the first to put the Kosovo flag on top of the world,’ and to inspire a new post-war generation in Kosovo to move on from the war and dream big. This film looks back on Uta’s inspirational life, charting her journey from young woman growing up in a conflict country, to the literal top of the world. On the surface, this is a film about mountain climbing; human versus the most unforgiving terrain on the planet, but underneath it is a film about recognition, about empowerment and about having the courage and the determination to step forward and keep going – for Uta and for Kosovo. Winner 2022: Impact Docs Awards, Laurus Film Festival, Best Shorts Competition, Long Story Shorts, Short Cine Fest, Film in Focus, Short to the Point, Istanbul Film Awards, Travel Fest Albania. Finalist 2022: Rome Prisma Film Awards, Onyko Film Awards. Nominee – T.I.F.A 2022. Official Selections 2022: Wasatch Mountain Film Festival, Destination Unknown Film Festival, Toronto Documentary Film Festival, New York Indie Shorts Awards, No Man’s Land Film Festival, Lady Wild Film Fest, Tirana International Film Festival, Gutsy Girl Adventure Film Tour, Chiemgau Outdoor Festival.