{"id":65208,"date":"2025-07-24T10:42:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T09:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinehill.eu\/a-touching-tribute-and-standing-ovation-for-stipe-bozic-winner-of-the-50-years-award\/"},"modified":"2025-07-26T15:17:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T14:17:49","slug":"a-touching-tribute-and-standing-ovation-for-stipe-bozic-winner-of-the-50-years-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinehill.eu\/en\/a-touching-tribute-and-standing-ovation-for-stipe-bozic-winner-of-the-50-years-award\/","title":{"rendered":"A touching tribute and standing ovation for Stipe Bo\u017ei\u0107, winner of the 50 Years Award"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cStipe will get better soon. We still have a lot of plans\u201d, <\/em>said Viki Gro\u0161elj<\/strong> last night, receiving Cinehill\u2019s honorary 50 Years Award on behalf of Stipe Bo\u017ei\u0107<\/strong> at the Damside Theatre in downtown Fu\u017eine.<\/p>\n\n

The crowded auditorium dedicated a heartfelt applause to Stipe Bo\u017ei\u0107 wishing him a speedy recovery. The awards ceremony was followed by the screened of the documentary Alpine Warriors<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a moving and inspiring story about \u201ca group of crazy Slovenians and one Dalmatian\u201d, as Bernadette McDonald<\/strong>, the author of the book on which the film is based, called them.<\/p>\n\n

Directed and shot by Bo\u017ei\u0107, the documentary presents the testimonies of the surviving participants of legendary expeditions, including Gro\u0161elj himself, Bo\u017ei\u0107\u2019s long-time friend, colleague, and climbing companion. Earlier in the day, in a conversation with the audience moderated by Cinehill\u2019s selector Jurica Pavi\u010di\u0107<\/strong>, Gro\u0161elj spoke more about Alpine Warriors <\/em>and the incredible expeditions captured in the documentary.<\/p>\n\n

Reclining in deckchairs in the cool shade of the forest at Rakov Jarak, the audience absorbed the words of a man who conquered more mountain peaks with Bo\u017ei\u0107 than most can even count. Gro\u0161elj spoke about the seductiveness of mountaineering \u2013 a world that Bo\u017ei\u0107 faithfully transferred onto the screen using authentic footage from his 50-year-long career. This documentary is not just an ode to the mountains \u2013 it is also a story about a great friendship.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe reason why the film focuses on Slovenian mountaineering is that Stipe was part of our team \u2013 us Slovenians, along with him on our team, formed an important part of Yugoslav alpinism. Those were nice collaborations. We tried to make sure that each republic had at least two representatives, but the Macedonians, Serbs and Montenegrins were not that interested\u201d, recalled Gro\u0161elj.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cCan the love for this often dangerous and demanding sport be related to the place where one grew up?\u201d asked Pavi\u010di\u0107. That is, did Gro\u0161elj\u2019s daily vista of the streets of Ljubljana with a view of the Alps in the background, or Bo\u017ei\u0107\u2019s view of the Biokovo Massif, foster their penchant for mountaineering?<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say so\u201d, Gro\u0161elj answered briefly. \u201cAs Stipe beautifully described it, those born by the sea rarely go swimming. We do not appreciate what is right in front of our noses. The desire to become an alpinist comes from within.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

That desire, he added, was very strong \u2013 because they had to survive great losses. During their 18 joint expeditions they lost seven friends.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAfter such tragic events you always ask yourself: does it make sense to go on? And the answer has always been \u2013 yes. We all lived for the same dreams. If they are no longer with us, it is up to us to continue climbing, to continue living that dream. Alpine \u201carriors<\/em>, which Stipe had the strength to finish, are a monument to them\u201d, said Gro\u0161elj.<\/p>\n\n

However, he added, we didn\u2019t just climb. That made up maybe 30 percent of the work. Everything else was organisation and planning \u2013 especially in the age before the internet and developed tourism, when every start was literally a journey into the unknown.<\/p>\n\n

Even today, Gro\u0161elj points out, there are perfect challenges \u2013 it could be on Triglav, or in the Himalayas. But a lot has changed.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cMountaineering has become part of the tourist offer, and it is good that it has. The local Nepali population today makes a living from alpine tourism\u201d, Gro\u0161elj points out.<\/p>\n\n

The Sherpa climbers have an extremely important and demanding role. Over the years, Slovenian alpinists have founded a school for mountain guidance intended for the local population of the Himalayas. It trains future guides, as well as the children and grandchildren of their fallen and missing colleagues.<\/p>\n\n

Now, when they\u2019re no longer worried about chasing the highest peaks anymore, their find the greatest pleasure in helping these people.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cVedran Mlikota, Stipe Bo\u017ei\u0107, and a few of our other friends have done a great thing. After the terrible Nepalese earthquake, which I myself survived, together they delivered huge amounts of aid to the local population\u201d, recalled the Slovenian alpinist.<\/p>\n\n

At one point, Pavi\u010di\u0107 invited Vedran Mlikota to the stage. Although he says that he is only an amateur alpinist, he climbed a peak over 6500 metres high with a group of friends known as Himalayan<\/em> Vlaji<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNo photo or film shot can evoke what you feel when you stand up there \u2013 with two giants, Bo\u017ei\u0107 and Gro\u0161elj \u2013 and your view reaches hundreds of kilometres around, with nothing but white peaks in sight. And the two of them just point with their fingers: Do you see that one? We climbed that one too\u201d, Mlikota described vividly.<\/p>\n\n

At the end of the conversation, Pavi\u010di\u0107 asked an on-the-nose but necessary question: how did all those years of expeditions and dangers affect family life?<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI knew this question would come up, so I brought my wife\u201d, Gro\u0161elj said, with a smile, and handed the microphone to his wife Cveta.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhen you see them off at the airport for the first time, you think \u2013 it\u2019s okay, nothing can happen. And then, as each time fewer of them return, you start to wonder: are we next? But you can\u2019t tell the man you love to stay home. If something happens, you know that he was where he wanted to be. It wasn\u2019t easy, but it\u2019s how you grow\u201d, said Cveta Gro\u0161elj. \n \n<\/p>\n