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Jury 2023

The jury members of the Grand Prix Graz competition and the category prizes are known for their expertise in areas such as film art and photography, alpinism, journalism and film history. Due to their professional qualifications, the members of the Mountainfilm Graz selection committee also have a great understanding of a wide range of cultures around the world.

Ute Hoffarth (Germany)

German filmmaker Ute Hoffarth has been working for SWR (formerly SWF) since 1988. Having started off in the classical radio department, she soon switched to television, where she has been responsible for countless TV programmes and cultural and travel documentaries, such as Länder-Menschen-Abenteuer. She also works as a filmmaker for ARTE, 3sat and SWR. In her documentaries, she combines the genres of landscape, culture, people and nature, thus creating comprehensive information formats. In 2019 she accepted the Alpine Camera in Gold for “Faszination Arktis – Tauchgang unter dünnem Eis“ at Mountainfilm Graz.

Klaus Höfler (Austria)

As a journalist, Klaus Höfler writes about large worlds of adventure, small adventure settings, hidden gems in the landscape and the captivating life stories of people who live and work in them. Born and bred in Graz, he studied geography and works for German-language newspapers, journals and magazines. He approaches mountains, valleys and waterways with respect and enthusiasm – and very often wearing running shoes; not to break records, but to test his own limits of enjoyment.

Günter Schilhan (Austria)

Günter Schilhan lives and works in Graz as a radio editor and freelance director. He has created 144 major productions and documentaries for ORF and 3sat and has to date filmed in 32 countries around the globe. Since 1995 he has been director of the series Inter-City spezial for ORF/3sat. In 1993 he founded his own film and TV production company, FILMPARK, which produces image films, multimedia installations and music videos. In 2014, he received a Romy for the TV documentary Ian Rankin – My Edinburgh.