Ciné-rencontre - Vent Debout !
Film Screening in Gerde with Director Laurence Fleury and Patrice de Bellefon, featuring the film *VENT DEBOUT!* Patrice de Bellefon, author of a socially conscious guidebook. An evening organized by the Gerde Local Assembly.
An undisputed figure in Pyrenean mountaineering, renowned since the 1960s for his mountaineering feats, his writings, his critical mind, and his outspoken views, Patrice de Bellefon is not universally loved. But behind the image of the maverick lies an artist, a socially conscious author, and a man of conviction capable of taking on any challenge.
This native of Gerde is best known for his book *The 100 Most Beautiful Routes in the Pyrenees*. He was one of the first high-mountain guides to offer expeditions to distant mountain ranges. He founded Gypaaile, the first paragliding brand in the Pyrenees. He spearheaded the effort to have the Mont-Perdu massif inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Without renouncing the adventurous spirit of his younger years, Patrice de Bellefon gradually moved away from it to focus more on the people and valleys of the Pyrenees. His philosophical reflections, critical thinking, and sensitivity to ecology led him to change his relationship with the high mountains, to the point ofhe decided to give up crossing an ocean and an entire continent just to traverse a ridge of snow and rock, no matter how beautiful it might be. %BB
This film traces the journey of this committed and “rebellious” mountaineer who, at 87, continues to speak out, write, publish, paint, and scale peaks with an incredible zest for life.