{"id":50555,"date":"2026-06-22T19:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iffartfilm.com\/?p=50555"},"modified":"2026-06-22T19:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T17:26:38","slug":"lucia-janicova-the-first-slovak-woman-on-the-summit-of-everest-brought-the-documentary-everest-a-mothers-peak-to-iff-art-film-and-opened-a-masterclass-in-the-industry-programme-on-filming-at-extr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iffartfilm.com\/en\/blog\/news\/2026\/06\/lucia-janicova-the-first-slovak-woman-on-the-summit-of-everest-brought-the-documentary-everest-a-mothers-peak-to-iff-art-film-and-opened-a-masterclass-in-the-industry-programme-on-filming-at-extr\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucia Jani\u010dov\u00e1, the first Slovak woman on the summit of Everest, brought the documentary Everest: A Mother’s Peak to IFF Art Film and opened a masterclass in the Industry programme on filming at extreme altitudes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Slovak Season section of the 32nd IFF Art Film Ko\u0161ice, the sixty-minute documentary Everest: A Mother’s Peak<\/em>, directed by Scottish documentarian Paul Diffley, was screened on Saturday, 20 June 2026 at Kino \u00dasmev and on Sunday, 21 June at Kino Veritas. The film captures the climb of scientist, mountaineer and mother Lucia Jani\u010dov\u00e1 \u2014 the first Slovak woman on the summit of Mount Everest \u2014 interwoven with a personal story about childhood, motherhood and how pain can be turned into strength. Both screenings were accompanied by an introduction and a discussion with the filmmakers in the presence of director Paul Diffley, Lucia Jani\u010dov\u00e1 and her daughter Adela Jani\u010dov\u00e1, who is also a protagonist of the film. Both screenings were followed by an AF INDUSTRY masterclass Documentary Challenge \u2013 A Journey with a Camera to Mount Everest<\/em> on Sunday, 21 June at 13.00 at Kulturpark Gal\u00e9ria ALFA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Lucia Jani\u010dov\u00e1<\/strong>, the film was not just a record of a first ascent. \u201cThe film was not made to tell another story about Everest, but to inspire others who also have difficult life situations behind them. I wanted to give them courage and show that even pain can be turned into strength, that any small step can take us to great goals, and that we don’t have to be victims of our past but the authors of our future,\u201d<\/em> said Lucia Jani\u010dov\u00e1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The title of the film Everest: A Mother’s Peak<\/em> reflects Jani\u010dov\u00e1’s<\/strong> personal view of motherhood: \u201cGrowing up, I didn’t see many women mountaineers around me. I saw strong women \u2014 my mother, my aunts, my grandmothers \u2014 who held the families together while the men went off for adventure. I always perceived a mother as someone who sacrifices her life. Over time I realised that it shouldn’t be like that: we, parents, are models and role models for our children. And when we show them that we are brave, that we believe in ourselves and that we are not afraid to set out for high goals, that is what we can pass on to the next generation. It was very important to me \u2014 I did it for my own daughter,\u201d<\/em> she explained.<\/p>\n

Jani\u010dov\u00e1’s<\/strong> climb was not built only on physical preparation. As a scientist she also approached it professionally: \u201cI admit, without science I would not have been able to climb Everest. For me, science is part of the climb. I spent over a year studying physiology in extreme conditions because I needed to understand how my body works in such an environment \u2014 and based on that I planned my climbing tactics,\u201d<\/em> she explained.<\/p>\n

The symbolic meaning of the climb went beyond sport for Jani\u010dov\u00e1<\/strong>. \u201cForty years ago the first Slovaks \u2014 Zolt\u00e1n Demj\u00e1n and Jozef Psotka \u2014 stood on the summit, but no Slovak woman had ever done it. Everest came to me as a symbol of the gap between men and women, which I decided to fill. I was inspired by Fre\u0161ta Ibrahimi, an Afghan refugee with a difficult past and the same kind of huge dream. I wanted to tell women that we will never know what we can do until we try,\u201d<\/em> said Lucia Jani\u010dov\u00e1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The most demanding part of filming, according to Jani\u010dov\u00e1<\/strong>, was capturing herself. \u201cIt is easier to film someone else, but there wasn’t always someone beside me. At certain moments I had to weigh up whether I would let my hands freeze or whether I would have the shot. That was the trade-off: I’ll have the footage, or I won’t,\u201d<\/em> she described.<\/p>\n

For viewers who have never climbed, the film carries a simple call: set your own Everest. \u201cEverest is not just one. Our dreams don’t have to be mountaineering \u2014 for some people, Everest is also a kilometre on foot or five kilometres at a run. The important thing is to set a higher goal, something we have a relationship with. Step by step, let us not look how far we still have to go, but how far we have already come,\u201d<\/em> Jani\u010dov\u00e1<\/strong> summed up.<\/p>\n