Wir von da oben – Change of generations on the alp

"It was great growing up like this, there was always action," says Dani, the eldest son of the Gisler family. They are mountain farmers in Schächental. The whole family used to move four times a year. From the farm, to the Maiensäss, to the Sommeralp and back again. 9 years ago, the filmmaker Rita Ziegler met Dani and his 3 siblings for the first time. A mountain idyll at first sight, but on closer inspection a huge job for the parents, Berti and Agnes. The children were still very young at the time, but they learned early on to help out and to take on responsibility.
Even then, Agnes attached importance to every child learning a profession so that they could decide for themselves about their future. She was also looking for new opportunities for herself so that she would not only be dependent on her husband's business.
Nine years later, Rita Ziegler returns to the alp with her film team. Much has changed.

The four Gisler children are now teenagers and young adults. Dani 23, Chrigel 22, Tamara 19 and Simi 15 years old. The secluded family life, the summer months of light-hearted childhood in the mountains, no longer exist.
Berti Gisler still runs the family business. When he is not up on the alp with the cattle, he lives with the boys in the lowest house. They drive down to the valley from there every day to work or school. Agnes Gisler has realised her wish for more independence and leased a mountain kiosk. But with the farm business, it became too much for her. She moved out and is looking for her own way.

Dani will probably take over his parents' farm soon. Does alpine farming on three levels still have an economic future? What should he focus on? Direct payments for organic areas, dairy farming or cattle breeding?
With a lot of passion and enthusiasm, he and his brothers founded a cow styling agency with a few colleagues, the "Schauteam Gisler-Pfulg".
Their successful appearances at large cattle shows are more than a hobby. The most beautiful cattle also fetch higher prices.

The Gislers' centre of life has generally shifted downwards. Almost all of them are more in the valley than on the mountains. Nonetheless, the old family solidarity still works as a matter of course when it comes down to it, and everyone pitches in.

A touching film about idyllic childhood and disenchanted adulthood, about the reality of this mountain farming family in the Schächental and the difficulties of the 3-level economy, and a film about the importance of solidarity in a family in difficult times.