This year the International Alliance for Mountain Film decided to award the Grand Prize to Eliza Kubarska, in recognition of her career as a director of documentaries capable of investigating the human events hidden behind great adventures.
An avid climber, traveler and explorer, Eliza is one of the few women to have accomplished difficult big-wall/multipitch first ascents around the world, as well as having participated in mountaineering expeditions in the Karakorum and other mountain ranges around the globe. But although her personal approach to the mountains may appear distinctly sporty and adventurous, the films she makes during her adventures always have the characteristic of going beyond the simple story of the facts, to investigate the deepest folds of the human soul.
The result of this particular sensitivity is that all her works, from "What happened on Pam Island" of 2010/11, to "K2 Touching the Sky" of 2015, up to the recent "The Wall of Shadows" of 2020/21, have won numerous awards not only in most of the International Alliance for Mountain Film festivals, but also in many other international film festivals not related to the mountain world.
She is currently working on her most ambitious project, a multi-layered story of the eventful life of legendary female alpinist Wanda Rutkiewicz.
International Alliance for Mountain Film
Instituted in 2000, throughout its trajectory the International Alliance for Mountain Film, which includes the most prestigious organisations in the sector among its members, has become the main reference point for those who produce, promote and conserve mountain films. Today we are 27 members: 25 festivals of mountain film, one mountain museum and one mountain film archive, which represent 20 countries from Europe, Asia, North and South America and Oceania.
Ever since the founding, the members have been interested in honouring those who, through their talent, have changed the world of mountain film. IAMF members wish to express their gratitude to the filmmakers, directors and producers who have contributed throughout their careers to the evolution of mountain film into the prominent genre that it is today. With this in mind, IAMF created in 2002 the IAMF Grand Prize, recognizing career leaders in mountain film. The winners include directors such as Gerhard Baur, Lothar Brandler, Pavol Barabas, Kurt Diemberger, Ermanno Olmi, Werner Herzog, Dariusz Zaluski and, in 2022, Michael Dillon, as well as producers such as Swiss Television or Sender Films.
