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News imageWitness History, Witness History, The pioneer of 'Mountain Filming'

Witness History

Witness History

The pioneer of 'Mountain Filming'


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8 December 2020

10 minutes

Available for over a year

In 1920 a German filmmaker called Arnold Fanck shot his first film - 'Marvels of the Snowshoe' - high in the mountains. He and his team dragged cameras on sledges to reach the highest peaks. They even attached cameras to their skis to make the early action films. Johannes Dell has been watching some of those films and talking to his grandson Matthias Fanck.

Photo: A still from one of Fanck's early Mountain Films. Copyright: Matthias Fanck.

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