In this essay film, the filmmaker Medea embarks on a deeply personal journey to reconnect with a grandfather she never met. By retracing his steps through the Alps, she visits the same places he documented in 1931 - when he was 23 years old, the same age she is today.

As Director of Photography, I contributed both creatively and technically to shaping this visual journey. I followed Medea into the mountainous region around Zirbitzkogel in Styria, where the production required long hikes, remote locations, and an adaptive approach to filming within a constantly shifting natural environment.

The film blends archival material from her grandfather’s hiking journals (photographs and written notes) with contemporary imagery of the same landscapes. This creates a dialogue across time, exploring how memory, place, and identity are constructed and preserved through different media.

Beyond the personal narrative, the film reflects on the transformation of alpine landscapes over nearly a century, and raises questions about our evolving relationship with nature. It also considers how the tools we use to document life shape what we remember, and what inevitably gets lost.

At its core, the project is an exploration of belonging: how landscapes shape us, how time alters them, and how we attempt to hold onto both.