JOSEF PACHER, Farmer (Mölltal – Carinthia, Austria)

I can do this, because I've only got a few years left. But I wouldn't recommend it to a young person. The alternative would be to give up. It'd probably be a good idea. As sad as that is. The work here is more dangerous than in the valley. But I still prefer being a mountain farmer to being a farmer down in the valley

JULIA AUERNIG, Student (Mölltal – Carinthia, Austria)

Well, I'll have to take over the farm, because I'm an only child. I'd like to keep it going, I don't want it all to fall apart. I'd like to make sure that alpine farming survives. But it wouldn't make sense the way things are now. I do feel under pressure a bit. But as my dad always puts it: we'll manage somehow. It'll work out somehow.

MARIA PACHER, Farmer (Mölltal – Carinthia, Austria)

I was born here. Mother was picking potatoes that day and in the evening, she gave birth to me.

AXEL DOERING, Retired forester, Cipra (Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Bavaria, Germany)

The Alps are just so fascinating. What you find in the Alps can't be found anywhere else. But it's just the remains now. I moved here in the 1970s. Back then, the average yearly temperature was 6.8 degrees. Today it's 8.2 degrees. So, from a climate perspective, this ski resort is now 300 metres lower than back then. No one ever went skiing at an altitude of 400 metres. So, they're trying to keep this going artificially by spending lots of money and interfering with the landscape and the soil.
You can make a rough calculation: One social housing unit pays for a snow cannon.

NICOLE MOJR, Immobilienmaklerin (Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Bavaria, Germany)

Not many people here have such a nice view of the mountains. And that is also reflected in the price. Due to the current economic situation, people are more skeptical about the stock market. So, they prefer to invest in real estate. In "concrete gold", that is.

FAUSTO RIZZI, Knife manufacturer (Premana – Lombardy, Italy)

The people who take up traditional professions, like making knives and scissors, have a deep connection to the village. This connection between family and work is the reason why many of us stay. It's only a village, but it's where I was born and grew up, where I have my friends, the mountains, the rivers, where I have my relatives and family, my work, my school. So it's nothing, but everything to me. I'll fight till the end to be able to stay here.

PIETRO RIZZI, Knife manufacturer (Premana – Lombardy, Italy)

If it wasn't for the jobs here in Premana, there'd probably be hardly anyone living here.

DAVIDE RIZZI, Knife manufacturer (Premana – Lombardy, Italy)

An important aspect here is the community. Despite the competition, there is a sense of solidarity between the companies. For almost all technical problems we might have in our company, we find the solution here in our village. So, although the company is small and is located in a remote village, we have a lot of options close at hand. This might not be so easy to find in Milan. Let's put it this way: we like the balance we've got here.

BERNADETTE VABRE, Medical assistant (Méribel – Trois Vallées, France)

It's important to have a family physician, who knows you from childhood and accompanies you throughout adulthood. But that won't happen anymore in the future. And I think it's a pity. Here in Méribel, we know that we won't be able to find a doctor who would have a surgery every day like we do. So I think the practice will close.

THIERRY VABRE, Physician (Méribel – Trois Vallées, France)

No hotels also mean no seasonal workers. The seasonal workers are patients for the doctor. They're customers for the supermarkets. They're skiers for the ski lifts. And then there's climate change. Skiing might only be possible two months a year, instead of four. What do you live on if you only have work for two months?

MARTA FOSSATI, Farmer (Valle Stura – Piemont, Italy)

What I like about my work is that we're involved in every single step of the process. I'm proud of being a producer.
The appearance of the wolves coincided with an enormous decline in prices for our products. There's also been a constant population decline. During certain periods, there are more people here. But then there are so many months when no one is around. This lack of social network, and also the solitude, it can be quite hard to live like that. I saw a lot of people my age trying to make a living here, full of enthusiasm and with good ideas. But they'd be gone after a few years, because it was too tough. In my view, life in the mountains was just too hard on them.

ADRIANO FOSSATI, Farmer (Valle Stura – Piemont, Italy)

Now nature is reclaiming the land. There's scrubland everywhere. The area where I used to graze my cows and cut hay ten years ago, is now full of blackberry bushes and shrubs. It's basically smothering us and it's our own fault: Everyone left because they couldn't make a living here anymore.
I haven't always been a shepherd and farmer. What I want to make clear is: I prefer a lousy income with my sheep than a good income in a factory. Life is not only about money. It's also about satisfaction. Life is short. It's a passage. Be at peace with yourself and the world.

RICARDO FERREIRA, Lift attendant (Zermatt – Wallis, Switzerland)

I'm Portuguese, when I came here, there were about 300 Portuguese people. Now there are about 2,000. Zermatt needs the Portuguese. And Zermatt wouldn't be doing so well without the Portuguese. When I came to Zermatt and started at this company, the glacier stretched almost to here. Today, the glacier has retreated almost 700 metres. We're covering the glacier because of the temperature and hope that we can at least save the upper part here.

SALOMÉ AZEVEDO, Service employee in bakery (Zermatt – Wallis, Switzerland)

There are Portuguese people working in the town administration, in grocery stores, in offices, in the mountain cable car company, in bakeries... Everywhere. Literally everywhere. And if they all disappeared just one day, you would notice it. People like us, who have a normal income, can't afford a flat in Zermatt. We work a lot. My husband works on a building site and I work in a bakery. But these aren't dream jobs for either of us. I want my children to be able to say one day, "I have my dream job."

Director, Script, Editing: Robert Schabus
Assistant Director: Marie-Therese Vollmer
Cinematography: Lukas Gnaiger
Sound: Bertram Knappitsch
Dramaturgical advice: Wolfgang Widerhofer
Sound Design and Mixing: Andreas Frei
Grading: Lukas Lerperger
Music: Lukas Lauermann

Production Manager: Antonia Bernkopf
Executive Producer: Michael Kitzberger
Producers: Michael Kitzberger, Wolfgang Widerhofer, Markus Glaser, Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Production: NGF - Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion GmbH