Film Mountain Time - Alpine Architecture in Ten Stories

There is a special kind of time that belongs to the mountains: a rarefied, dilated rhythm that shapes people, landscapes, and architecture. With a few accelerations. A time that becomes space. From this idea comes MOUNTAIN TIME. Alpine Architecture in Ten Stories, the first film dedicated to contemporary architecture in the Italian Alps, directed by Francesca Molteni and Davide Fois, produced by Muse Factory of Projects, and conceived and promoted by the Associazione Architetti Arco Alpino.

A cinematic project stretching across 1,200 km and 52,000 km² of the Alpine Arc – from the heart of the mountains up to the 3,466 meters of Mont Blanc. The film crosses 10 territories and tells the stories of 10 communities, 10 architectural projects that bear witness to a new way of living in the mountains today.

Virtuous practices for the territory and for the generations of tomorrow: 10 examples of respect for the past and investment in the future. From the recovery of abandoned quarries to the construction of new schools, from the redevelopment of technological facilities to the restoration of hamlets destined for depopulation.

These are stories of shared processes and of care for people, nature, and landscapes. The protagonists are those who live the projects – the teacher, the pupils, the cable - car operator, the alpine pasture manager, the skier, the mountain guide... – with their everyday actions, in respect of the time of nature.

The film does not aim to provide answers, but to spark reflections, questions, and curiosity about the places of the Italian Alpine Arc: the depopulation of villages and the return of young people, the well-being of children and the recovery of tradition, sustainable tourism, the enhancement of the territory and environmental restoration, innovation and the relationship between humans and nature.

Through direct testimonies and interviews with architects Antonio De Rossi, professor at the Politecnico di Torino, and Alberto Winterle, President of the Associazione Architetti Arco Alpino from 2016 to 2021, the guiding thread of the narrative, the film tells of quality architecture as a social tool to promote work, research, and resources.

Alongside the architecture and its inhabitants, the other great protagonist is the Mountain: its voice, its forms, its time, conveyed by those who live there, design it, visit it, and above all love it.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers about the making of a film on architecture that unfolds to the rhythm of the mountain, and about what the experiences of the Italian Alpine region (Arco Alpino) can offer the Slovenian Alpine area.

Movie trailer: https://vimeo.com/1158471829

The trailer is in Italian, the film will be screened in English.

Ten presented projects

• Courmayeur (AO): Skyway Monte Bianco – Architect Carlo Cillara Rossi
• Puos d’Alpago (BL): New school complex – Architects Gianluca Facchinelli, Celeste Da Boit and Giada Saviane
• Valdaora di Sotto (BZ): Kindergarten – Feld72, Architektur Urbane Strategien
• Borgata Paraloup, Rittana (CN): Fondazione Nuto Revelli – Architects Aldo and Giovanni Barberis, Valeria Cottino, Dario Castellino, Daniele Regis
• Oira, former gneiss quarry (VB-NO): Tones Teatro Natura – Fuzz Atelier
• Livigno (SO): Mottolino Fun Mountain – Architect Anselmo Fontana, Studio LPS, Architect Massimo Roj, Progetto CMR International
• Pragelato (TO): Alpine pasture redevelopment – CoutanStudio, Architects Maicol and Devis Guiguet
• Castelfondo (TN): New squares and public spaces – Architects Mirko Franzoso and Mauro Marinelli
• Valle del But (UD): 6 electrical substations – Architects Federico Mentil, Gaetano Ceschiaand Marco Ragonese
• San Gottardo di Rimella (VC): Restoration of hamlets – Architects Carlo Sillano and Luigino Zardo

About the Authors

Francesca Molteni — Author, Director, Producer. Graduated in Philosophy from the University of Milan, she studied Film Production at New York University. Producer, director, and author of documentaries, television formats, installations, and design exhibitions since 2002. In 2009 she founded Muse Factory of Projects, a film production company focused on contemporary culture, design, and architecture. Her films include Amare Gio Ponti, Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Aldo Rossi Design, Green Over Gray. Emilio Ambasz, Superdesign. Italian Radical Design 1965–75, Il potere dell’Archivio. Renzo Piano Building Workshop, NEWMUSEUM(S), We The Others, and the TV series Piano’s Lessons. Renzo Piano and the Art of Making Buildings Labaired on RAI5. The six-episode series features the great master engaging with students from the Polytechnic University of Milan on six iconic projects by the RPBW studio. She has received the Innovation Award from the President of the Italian Republic, the Compasso d’Oro Honorable Mention, and the Cathay Pacific Award for Women Entrepreneurs. She contributes to La Repubblica, Door, Domus, and Elle Decor, and is the author of the book Icone d’impresa (Carocci). She is among the Ambassadors of Italian Design Day.

Davide Fois — Author, Director. Graduated from the Scuola Civica di Milano in Film and Television Directing. Hisearly work focused on music videos for major labels such as Universal Music, Warner, and Carosello Records. He soon shifted from music to narrative storytelling, directing a series of short films for Acqua Panna, always maintaining a distinctive cinematic approach. In education, he was directing tutor for FilmLab (IED + Anteo, creative direction by Silvio Soldini) and later taught Directing and Acting for the Camera at Mohole Academy in Milan. In 2019 he co-directed Inside Renzo Piano Building Workshop, a documentary presented at Biografilm Festival. Since 2021 he has formed a directorial duo with documentary filmmaker Mattia Colombo, with whom he wrote and directed Afuera Hay Más, a film following the journey of a young chef, available on Prime Video. He has recently directed the TV series Piano’s Lessons, which narrates the dialogue between architect Renzo Piano and a group of young students, broadcast on Rai 5. He has also directed short films for brands including San Benedetto, Coca Cola, and ADI Design.

Film Details

Conceived by the Associazione Architetti Arco Alpino
Written and directed by Francesca Molteni and Davide Fois
Editing: Nicolò Amedeo
Cinematography: Nicolò Amedeo, Davide Fois, Gabriele Sossella, Timon De Graaf Boelé
Sound: Massimiliano Santillo, Giovanni Isgrò
Production: Claudia Adragna and Gaia Maritano
Editorial Coordination: Roberta Busnelli
Production: Muse Factory of Projects, 2026
Initiator: Associazione Architetti Arco Alpino (President Simone Cola)
Runtime: 54 minutes
Language: English

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