One of my personal favorite aspects of learning about a new athlete, at least one that’s new to me, is hearing others articulate what makes that person stand out. What I often find is that an athlete’s personality and character become synonymous with their style and ability in their field. To the people who are closest to them, who watch them compete or perform regularly, those things — style, personality, talent, character — can’t be separated.
Consider that a little bit of foreshadowing for the short, Unfiltered — An Elisabeth Gerritzen Portrait.
In the competitive realm, Elisabeth “Eli” Gerritzen reached the pinnacle of her profession when she won the 2021 Freeride World Tour. What comes after such a massive accomplishment for any athlete can vary from person to person. Some keep pushing and the competitive flames only grow hotter. Some start looking outside of competition for fulfillment. Gerritzen fits in the latter category.
“Competing, to me, was like, ‘I don’t think I’m making the world a better place at all,” she says. The irony, of course, is that she doesn’t act like putting the bibs away and walking away from the podium magically did make the world a better place. To Eli, it’s all a search and she’s still along for the ride.
Unfiltered is a great portrait of a soul-searching athlete — one who just happens to be a world-class skier that makes friends in mosh pits.
