North American daredevils and film-makers dominate the first quartet, which are titled First Ascent: Alone on the Wall, Signatures, The Red Helmet and Follow Me, media sponsor Mountain Scene reported yesterday.
Festival director Kirsten Nicholl told the Queenstown Times 10 or 11 films were yet to be finalised for the showcase.
About 10 to 15 international entries were rejected over the past year, "because we can afford to be fussy and we want the best of the best", she said.
Movies were also sourced from the Banff Mountain Festival, a major Canadian event, plus the Kendal Mountain Festival, in England, and X-Dance Festival, in Salt Lake City, in the United States.
Ms Nicholl said there would be two sessions - a short action-film session for the core audience over the first four days and one session of two films of "high-altitude adventures" of longer duration on the final Monday evening.
Award-winning Queenstown landscape photographers Jackie Ranken and Mike Langford contribute their works in a photography exhibition.
Brazilian singer-songwriter-guitarist Fernando Aragones returns to entertain at all evening shows.
The fifth annual festival begins on Thursday, August 12, at 8pm in the Queenstown Memorial Hall.
Friday, August 13, Saturday, August 14 and Sunday, August 15 will each feature an 8pm screening.
Doors open at 7.15pm and there is a 20-minute interval in the two-hour programme.
Saturday and Sunday will also include a matinee screening at 3pm, showing the short films programme.
The longer programme screens on Monday, August 16, at 8pm.
Tickets are available from Queenstown i-Site, the Queenstown Events Centre and TicketDirect.
Door sales will be subject to availability.
