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The New Localism Film Tour

Outdoor company Patagonia is well known as a being conservation leader because of it’s attempts to reduce the environmental impacts of it’s products and its support for grassroots environmental activism around the world.

Amongst their in-house campaigns, they have one called the New Localism. In many ways this program simply encourages people to ‘pay the rent’ to the places that they love to explore, by working to protect them.

They say:

“We are all locals. And we live in a global world. We can no longer pass through or visit remote wild places and trust they will remain that way. Patagonia’s friends have always brought us news of places they loved that are threatened. Patagonia is committed to bringing our resources and connections to bear on these threats to wildness, far and wide. We all have a chance to make a difference. Take a stand”.

As part of the New Localism initiative, the company is hosting a traveling film festival which features a range of films that straddle the divide between adventure and activism.

Different films are being in various locations, starting in Sydney on Wednesday October 23.

The series includes Damnation, which looks at the movements in North America which are seeking to have dams which are no longer needed removed from key river systems, and Jumbo Wild, which chronicles the long campaign to stop a mega development in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia.

You can find out more about the festival here, and dates and locations of showings here.

[Imagine is from Patagonia, in the Purcell Mountains, BC.]

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Backcountry film festival 2016

The Backcountry film festival is put together by the Winter Wildlands Alliance, based in Idaho. It is a celebration of the human-powered backcountry experience, with a strong focus on skiing and riding.

The festival has been showing in Australia for the past five years.

We will aim to start screenings of the new season from April 2016.

In the past two seasons, we have included a brief Australian made film. In 2015 we showed Find Your Line, about spiltboarding the western slopes of the Main Range in the Snowy Mountains. In 2014 we showed OFF GRID, featuring skiing and riding on Mt Bogong in Victoria.

We would love to show one or two short (5 – 7 minute) Australian made films during the 2016 season. If you have something to suggest please get in touch: cam.walker@foe.org.au

And as usual, if you’d like to host a local showing or know a suitable venue in Melbourne, please get in touch. We generally get around 130 people to the Melbourne show, so looking for a theatre that’s large enough, cheap, and fairly central.

For further details on the festival, please check here.

We will post the 2016 line-up once its announced.

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It’ spring – so it’s time for ski/ boarding films

As we swing into the southern spring, it’s autumn in the northern hemisphere and everyone is gearing up for winter. All the magazines have their buyers guides and this year’s crop of mountain related films are doing the rounds.

Here’s a couple that have surfaced, for some late season  inspiration.

Continue reading “It’ spring – so it’s time for ski/ boarding films” →

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Sugar Mountain: Australian High Country Tour Announced

Sugar Mountain is an Australian ski film set in the wilds of Alaska. Described as a ‘cosmic ski odyssey’, its a great film about a bunch of Australians who head to Alaska in search of the mythical peak. It is directed by Richard James, and produced by Oscar and Watkin McLennan.

Now its being toured through the Australian Alps, with three shows planned for this winter.

“Now is the time to hit the Australian slopes and here is where you can couple your Aussie skiing adventure with a quite or rowdy night at the movies”. 

MT Hotham – With DJ EDDY 

Get Hotham Tickets

      • MON . JUL 13 | The General, Mt Hotham | 8:00 pm

Mt Buller – Cinema 

Buy Buller Tickets

      • SAT . JUL 18 | Cinema, Mt Buller Community Centre | 8:00 pm

Jindabyne

Get Jindi Tickets

      • SUN . JUL 26 | Banjo Paterson Inn | 8:00 pm

 

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Backcountry film festival showing in Sydney

Patagonia is hosting a showing of the Backcountry film festival, at 6pm on wednesday June 3.

At the Patagonia store. 93 Bathurst Street, Sydney.

We will be showing all nine films (full list here).

This is a free event. You’d be most welcome to make a donation, which will go to the Friends of the Earth climate campaign.

There is a facebook page for the event available here.

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The final frontier: women in ski films

Pretty Faces. An all female ski film.

We all know that women are radically under represented in skiing and boarding films. I remember posting a trailer for a film once and a friend commented “where are all the women? At home minding the kids?”. Harsh but fair. Each season brings a new round of films, but women continue to be an absolute minority in both resort and backcountry orientated films.

That is why this new production is so inspiring. Pretty Faces is “a film celebrating women who thrive in the snow”.

The film’s producers point out that women make up around 40% of the skiing population and 30% of the people watching adventure sports films. Yet only 14% of athletes in major ski films were female in this years releases. “Additionally, last season’s 14% was record female representation, up from 9% the previous season”.

The concept for the film came from professional big mountain skier and SheJumps co-founder, Lynsey Dyer. SheJumps encourages the participation of women in outdoor activities. Lynsey wanted to produce a film that gave “women and girls, young and old, a source of inspiration through a unique look at what is possible when boundaries are broken, dreams captured and friendships cultivated”.

In Lynsey’s words “I wanted to give young girls something positive to look up to…I wanted to give them their Blizzard of Ahhs, Ski Movie or High Life, but done in a way that also shows the elegance, grace, community and style that is unique to women in the mountains.”

“We see this as an opportunity to provide an inspiring documentary ski film told from a female’s perspective to connect with and celebrate skiing’s female population”.

“Although skiing is the focus of the film, we hope to showcase women’s on-hill success–from professional skiers to recreational enthusiasts–to inspire girls of all ages to pursue their dreams, walk the path less traveled, and reach their fullest potential, whatever path they choose”.

I haven’t seen the film as yet. Apart from loving the fact it aims to showcase the talents of women, I also appreciate that making the film was a collaborative process. The people behind the project did a call out for contributions: This isn’t just a project for “big-names” in the sport. We are looking for women old and young, talented and hard working, from all backgrounds to contribute to this project. Footage that oozes excitement, passion, authenticity and hard work will be considered for inclusion in the film”.

You can see the trailer here.

The film will be available for purchase shortly. Check the website for details.

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The Little Things boarding film launched

“We live in remarkable times. What is done, or isn’t done, in the next few years will determine the future”

– David Suzuki

“We need people to fall in love with the outdoors. Without that personal connection with nature it’s hard to get them to protect it”

– Jeremy Jones

Legendary snow boarder Jeremy Jones and environmentalist David Sukuki provide the narrative to the film The Little Things, which has just been released.

The Little Things is a snowboard movie project based on “environmentally conscious riders who are inspirational through their riding, as well as their sustainable ways of living and thinking”.

1233966_447889521993325_1612016137_nThe film is an initiative taken on by professional snowboarder Marie-France Roy and directed by Filmmaker Darcy Turenne in which all the riders are bringing to life the importance of protecting and living in balance with our environment.

100% of the proceeds from the film will be donated to Protect Our Winters (POW) and The David Suzuki Foundation (DSF). The film makers say that “the goal is to bring snowboarding one step ahead, while inspiring positive change that will secure the same lifestyle and quality of life that we have for future generations”.

You can see the trailer (and buy the film) here

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Australian backcountry film festival – Spring 2014

For the past four years, the backcountry film festival has been attracting good numbers of people, and has been showing in more locations across south eastern Australia.

It seems like it might be time to have our own festival – with films made in Australia.

At previous Melbourne shows, we have added a film about skiing and boarding on The Bluff (No Lift Lines Here), and this year saw OFF GRID, a new effort on Mt Bogong from SoO Airtime.

The plan is to hold an Australian backcountry film festival in late spring 2014 with only local content. There are some fantastic film makers out there, and we hope to be able to showcase some of these.

We are seeking expressions of interest from film makers who would like to submit films.

Any human and gravity powered backcountry adventure would be welcome: walking, skiing, boarding, MTBing, paddling, climbing, …

As this is an entirely volunteer effort, with no budget, we are not able to offer payment for showing the films.

Films can be in two length categories. We hope to show an hours worth of short films (3 to 7 minutes) then up to 2 longer films (30 – 40 minutes each).

At this point we are looking at doing a Melbourne showing, with the ability to offer the festival to other places once its packaged up. The aim is to do a low fuss mini film festival, so we’d appreciate getting the films in a format that allows us to put them onto a single dvd.

If you’re keen, please get in touch: cam.walker@foe.org.au

I would also love to hear from anyone keen to volunteer their skills to turn the individual films into a package and for help with logistics.

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Review: All.I.Can

allicanThis film is billed as the best selling ski film of all time. One that ‘compares the challenges of big mountain skiing to the challenges of climate change’. I liked its trailer, which did seem to be saying something about over consumption and energy. As a backcountry skier and climate campaigner, I was stoked when I finally got to watch it, a few years after it came out.

Yes, its beautiful, compelling and also great fun, covering some of the finest skiing terrain on the planet. There are great people skiing incredible lines, and having a lot of fun doing it. There is an urban skiing scene that is one of the best clips I have ever seen in a ski film.

But in its claim that it is tackling the climate change issue, it is also a dangerous piece of propaganda for ‘business as usual’ capitalism. I am amazed that the film wasn’t paid for by coal companies. How can a group of switched on people get it so wrong?

My review is available here.

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