The 2023 Grand Prize has been awarded 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 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.