ELIZA KUBARSKA WINDS TRULY SPECIAL GRAND PRIX
The Polish director has won the prestigious International Alliance for Mountain Film award. Eliza Kubarska is the first woman to individually receive this unique award.
The International Alliance for Mountain Film was established in 2000. It is one of the most important associations for the promotion and distribution of mountain films. One of the its key activities is to support archives, museum sites and, above all, film festivals devoted specifically to the subject of mountains.
Each year, the institution awards a prize to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to this type of filmmaking and actively contribute to the further development of this field of cinematography. Winners of this award include Gerhard Baur, Lothar Brandler, Pavol Barabas, Kurt Diemberger, Ermanno Olmi, Werner Herzog, Dariusz Załuski, Michael Dillon. Producers such as Swiss Television and Sender Films were also awarded. This year, IAFMF members decided to honour a Polish director.
Eliza Kubarska has been recognised for her exceptional career as a director of documentaries on mountain themes. As an avid mountaineer, traveller, and explorer, the Polish filmmaker is one of the few women to have succeeded in so many difficult first ascents of major mountain summits (Kubarska has participated in many difficult expeditions, including the one to Karakorum). What sets her apart is that the documentaries she shoots on her trips go beyond simply recording climbs. In the director's case, there are no dry facts, but instead we're treated to extraordinarily rich and complex stories that touch on the hidden depths of the human soul.
Owing to her extraordinary sensitivity and courage, Kubarska's productions include What Happened on Pam Island, K2 – Touching the Sky and her latest – The Wall of Shadows. Each of these documentaries has won numerous awards and accolades not only at the signature festivals of the International Alliance for Mountain Film, but also at many other international film events unrelated to the world of mountains lovers.
The director is currently working on a film about the legendary Polish mountaineer Wanda Rutkiewicz.
You can read more about the alliance and the award here.