Europe's largest mountain film festival, the European Outdoor Film Tour, opens its national tour this Sunday from the Canary Islands and does so with an exceptional guest. This edition of the festival will feature the Iranian professional climber, Nasim Eshqi, a pioneer in professional climbing in her country and defying the regime as the ambassador of freedom, equality and human rights.

Nasim Eshqi was one of the first Iranian women to become a professional climber despite this reality, and today she is the voice of hundreds of thousands of women in her country. She began by mobilising the climbing community and today she has become a loudspeaker to call on civil society to open their eyes within the movement for the murder of Masha Amini by the 'morality police', among others.

Nasim Eshqi is the EOFT's guest of honour

The athlete, known for her EOFT 2021 documentary 'Climbing Iran', has been one of the pioneers in outdoor climbing in Iran, becoming a reference in the struggle for Freedom, Equality and Human Rights.

Europe's largest mountain film festival, the European Outdoor Film Tour, will open its national tour of more than twenty Spanish cities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and will do so with one of the most international voices on the planet, that of Iranian professional climber, Nasim Eshqi, a pioneer in professional climbing in her country and defying the regime as an ambassador of freedom, equality and human rights. Nasim Eshqi has been climber for 17 years, and from her position as an elite athlete, she pursues the dual goal of defending the human rights of women in Iran and around the world.

Nasim, known for her documentary 'Climbing Iran' from EOFT 2021, is the special guest of this edition in the Canary Islands, and one of the adventurers nominated in the European Outdoor Film Tour, which will open its tour of Spain on 21 January at the Guimerá Theatre in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and on 26 January at the Guiniguada Theatre in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. This climber and activist is a candidate for the 21st Century Adventurer Award, a worldwide popular vote that will be decided from 1 February and is awarded by the prestigious FILM FESTIVAL.

The murder of Masha Amini by the 'morality police' led to an international mobilisation led by leading women from all over the world, who cut their hair as a sign of protest. protest in the face of government tyranny. At this point, more than 15,000 people have been arrested and more than 1,000 deaths have already been recorded by this 'morality police', which forbids women to play sports, show their hair, sing, perform theatre, among other oppressions. Nasim Eshqi has been one of the first Iranian women to become a professional in the climbing despite this reality, and today she is the voice of hundreds of thousands of women in her country. She began by mobilising the climbing community and today she has become a loudspeaker to call on civil society to open its eyes.

The EOFT will kick off its national tour from TenerifeIt will travel to Spain on 21 January with its Spanish premiere at the Teatro Guimerá in Santa Cruz, followed by its date in Gran Canaria on 26 January at the Teatro Guiniguada, together with Nasim Eshqi, who will share his incredible story of overcoming obstacles with the audience of the islands. After its premiere, the festival will tour 18 cities in Spain and 27 countries with more than 550 events throughout Europe.

The festival is intended to inspire adventurers and lovers of the sport The film is full of contrasts and told in the first person, this time with the French filmmaker Sophie Planque as the head of the line-up.

The 31-minute short film 'The great traverse', a French production, serves as the face of this year's edition, with the story of cycling adventure from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, from north to south in a face to face confrontation with the most extreme and impressive nature.

Five other European short films, 'Triple edge', '972 breakdowns', 'The nine wheels', 'Summits in the sky', 'Shifting', complete the impact programme of this edition, with works selected from thousands of candidates from all over the world.

Special raffles at the national premiere

From among the spectators of both stops in the Canary Islands, the traditional raffle of first class sports equipment, courtesy of the specialised mountain shop Running Project Canarias and Kinema Producciones, producer and distributor in Spain of the festival.

The festival will be screened in the original version, with Spanish subtitles and sign language translation, in order to break down language and communication barriers in an accessible and global event. This festival seeks, through culture and creativity, to raise awareness, promote and disseminate the defence, protection and conservation of natural spaces, in line with the 2030 Agenda for a Circular Economy of the United Nations and also of the Spanish Government, specifically in its instruments of "Awareness, Training, Participation and Dissemination".

This festival, originally from Germany, through the German production company Moving Adventures GmbH, is promoted and distributed in Spain by Kinema Producciones SL with the collaboration of the Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural del Gobierno de Canarias, the Organismo Autónomo del Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Filmoteca Canaria, the specialised mountain magazine Kiss The Mountain, the company Top Time Eventos, the trail running app Runnun App, the specialised shop Running Project Canarias, the Federación Española de Deportes de Montaña y Escalada, the Federación Canaria de Montaña and the Asociación Española de Guías de Montaña.