17TH ANNUAL BACKCOUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL COMES TO CRESTED BUTTE!
Calling all “go big or go home” winter enthusiasts! Get ready to get goosebumps while you “Ooh!” and “Ahh!” at the impact and importance of our winter wildlands through this collection of short films. The fifteenth annual Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival will show in Crested Butte on Wednesday, March 23rd at online. All proceeds will benefit HCCA’s Save Red Lady campaign.
Produced each year as a celebratory, backcountry community event by the Winter Wildlands Alliance, the 15th Annual Backcountry Film Festival film line-up is full of snowy, cinematic adventure sure to inspire both the local backcountry and general communities. Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving winter wildlands and a quality human-powered snow sports experience on public lands.
By partnering with groups like High Country Conservation Advocates at a local level, the Winter Wildlands Alliance raises funds for these groups and communities through the annual Backcountry Film Festival national tour. All funds raised directly benefit local projects and programs that perpetuate access and stewardship of public lands.
Adventure, environment and climate, youth outdoors, ski culture- you’ll find it all in this award winning lineup.
How to Access: Access details will be shared with current ticket holders the morning of March 23.
Ways to Watch: There are many ways to stream and watch! Please review all the details below.
To watch on your computer, tablet or smartphone – Click the access link and watch! For details on supported web browsers, click here.
TV via Computer / Mobile / Tablet – Airplay or Chromecast to your TV or connect your computer to your TV via HDMI.
Smart TV via Vimeo app – From your computer, make sure you are logged in to your Vimeo account (free to sign up and ignore all prompts to upgrade to a paid account) and click the heart icon in the top right of the video embedded on the left. That will add the video to your “Liked” videos. Log in to the Vimeo app on your Smart TV with the same account credentials and navigate to your liked videos. Click “BCFF 2021-22” and press play!
Projector - Connect your computer to your projector's HDMI and stream directly from the watch page by expanding the video to full screen.
Get creative with your viewing set up! Build an igloo and cozy up inside for a night of snow cinema. Or build a snow screen in your backyard to watch on a projector with your best backcountry buddies. Watch it from the comfort of your own couch next to a fire after a long day in the skin track. Or watch it from the trailhead for some inspiration as your set to adventure out the next day. With virtual events, you can watch and support your local backcountry community from anywhere!
2022 Lineup
OFF-PISTE OPUS (2:22 minutes)
Director: Luke Nelson
Athlete(s): Luke Nelson
Studio/Production Company: Luke Nelson Films
Sponsor/Producer: N/A
Location: Idaho (Sawtooth Mountains)
Description: A raw edit of the sounds of the backcountry.
REVERIE (5:10 minutes)
Director: Claire Wiley
Athlete(s): Bridgette Meinhold
Studio/Production Company: Eclectic Brew Productions
Sponsor/Producer: N/A
Location: Utah (Wasatch Mountains)
Description: Encaustic artist and outdoor adventurer, Bridgette Meinhold lives among the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. Her paintings reflect the aspen groves and peaks that surround her. On a frigid March morning, just before her birthday, Meinhold turns her muse into her canvas to create a snow labyrinth.
LOT’ZZA MIA (4:32 minutes)
Director: Anne Cleary
Athlete(s): Caitlin Mitchell and Griffin Dunne
Studio/Production Company: The Mad Trees
Sponsor/Producer: Flylow Gear
Location: Washington (Mt Baker Ski Area)
Description: A film on skiing and eating pizza - a lot of pizza, in the lot. Caitlin Mitchell and Griffin Dunne embark on an epic search for cheese when really it's the journey that matters. L'epica saga di un'odissea della pizza.
DENIZENS OF THE STEEP (10:08 minutes)
Director: Zach Montes
Athlete(s): Kim Havell
Studio/Production Company: Orijin Media
Sponsor/Producer: Osprey Packs
Location: Idaho/Wyoming (Grand Teton National Park)
Description: As backcountry skiing grows in popularity—and more people are headed into the wilderness than ever before—we must become aware of our environment, understand our impact and take measures to recreate responsibly. Denizens of the Steep explores the impact of backcountry recreation on migratory sheep, with professional ski mountaineer/guide Kim Havell and others discussing the importance of protecting and conserving the wild places in which we roam.
FINDING GULO (27:20 minutes)
Director: Colin Arisman and Tyler Wilkinson-Ray
Athlete(s): Steph Williams and Dave Moskowitz
Studio/Production Company: Wild Confluence
Sponsor/Producer: Patagonia and Conservation Northwest
Location: Washington (Northern Cascades)
Description: “Finding Gulo'' follows a backcountry ski guide & field biologist who set out to document an elusive population of wolverines. This short film celebrates the power of citizen science to protect endangered wildlife in the face of climate change.
EASTSIDE STORY (10:21 minutes)
Director: Bevan Waite
Athlete(s): Brennan Lagasse and Lel Tone
Studio/Production Company: Mountain Grown Media
Sponsor/Producer: Flylow Gear
Location: California (Sierra Nevada Mountains)
Description: This is the story of two seasoned backcountry skiers, mountain guides Lel Tone and Brennan Lagasse who have traveled the world and experienced some of the harshest and wildest snow-covered places. But here, these two Lake Tahoe-based skiers venture deep into their own backyard—the vast and rugged east side of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains to learn about the land and love the way they live.
A TRIBUTE TO A GLACIER (3:41 minutes)
Director: Thaïs Despont
Athlete(s): N/A
Studio/Production Company: Nomad Production Project
Sponsor/Producer: N/A
Location: Canada (Jasper National Park)
Description: A musical immersion in the wonderful landscapes of the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, seen through an indigenous lens.
WILD ICE (9:02 minutes)
Director: Matthew Baxley
Athlete(s): John Oberholtzer and Matthew Baxley
Studio/Production Company: Bear Witness Media
Sponsor/Producer: N/A
Location: Minnesota
Description: In far northern Minnesota, roughly once every ten years, the early-season ice conditions set up just right for skating. The window to travel the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness via Nordic skates is brief, but these locals took advantage of beautiful weather and headed into the wilderness on perfect ice.
SNOW RANGERS (9:35 minutes)
Director: Phil Huffeldt
Athlete(s): Kricket Olin, Julie Mach, Brian Ducay, and Connor Maher
Studio/Production Company: Wool Hat Creative
Sponsor/Producer: Athletic Brewing, Black Diamond, Weston, US Forest Service
Location: Colorado (Ouray)
Description: Snow Rangers is a short film that follows the Colorado Mountain Club’s backcountry program that is helping to manage expanding winter recreation in southwest Colorado.
FINDING BALANCE (3:32 minutes)
Director: Santino “Tino” Martirano
Athlete(s): Allen Stoltzfus
Studio/Production Company: Santino Media
Sponsor/Producer: N/A
Location: Colorado (Winter Park)
Description: Through life we dabble, we try new things, and we test the waters by sticking a toe in. But, every so often something special happens and we can't help but to dive deep.
THE APPROACH - SHORT (2:09 minutes)
Director: Anne Cleary
Athlete(s): Brooklyn Bell, Emilé Zynobia, Leanne Pelosi, Ingrid Backstrom, Vasu Sojitra, Sophia Rouches, Anna Soens, Marie-France Roy
Studio/Production Company: The Mad Trees
Sponsor/Producer: The North Face, Subaru, Fat Tire, Hydro Flask, evo, Smartwool
Location: N/A
Description: An action-driven ski and snowboard film elevating people of color, women and adaptive athletes.
ALONE BENEATH THE NORTHERN LIGHTS (6:41 minutes)
Director: Valentin Boitel-Denyset
Athlete(s): Valentin Boitel-Denyset
Studio/Production Company: N/A
Sponsor/Producer: N/A
Location: Norway
Description: A winter beyond the Arctic Circle, I open the door of a wooden hut lost in the heart of the white landscapes, far from any civilization. The northern lights blaze the skies, and the views are incredibly beautiful. I take care to write down my ideas, my sensations, and to record my life as a hermit. This place is propitious to wonder, to poetry, to reason…
PERSPECTIVES - FRED CAMPBELL (3:26 minutes)
Director: N/A
Athlete(s): Fred Campbell
Studio/Production Company: Sherpas Cinema
Sponsor/Producer: The North Face
Location: N/A
Description: When you’re an athlete, your sport defines you. TNF team athlete Fred Campbell was a football player. He lived and breathed the gridiron grind until a career-ending injury opened a door into the world of climbing.
ASCEND: REFRAMING DISABILITY IN THE OUTDOORS (11:48 minutes)
Director: Faith E. Briggs
Athlete(s): Vasu Sojitra and Emilé Zynobia
Studio/Production Company: TopTop Studio
Sponsor/Producer: The North Face
Location: Alaska (Denali National Park)
Description: Vasu is not seeking to inspire you to feel good. His trauma doesn’t exist solely to benefit the education of others. He is seeking to inspire you to move mountains. To take action. Skiing is the method, but the real mountains are the “isms” that fail to support Disabled communities, communities of color and so many others for whom access has not been a right. Through his personal journey and approaching a new objective, the famed line “The Skillet"" on Mt. Moran, and through over 40,000 “dips to Nirvana,” we hear his truth and begin to comprehend what it might look like to be in solidarity.
DEEPLY ROOTED (5:34 minutes)
Director: Beatriz Costa Lima
Athlete(s): Elisa Lopez and Meshach Padilla
Studio/Production Company: CrossCut
Sponsor/Producer: Port of Washington
Location: Washington (Leavenworth)
Description: Our nation's parks and forests have struggled with a diversity problem for decades. A long history of racism and exclusion in the great outdoors has left a deeply ingrained message about natural spaces: People of color don’t belong. Today, a group of dedicated nature lovers in Wenatchee hopes to change that. Team Naturaleza is making Central Washington's outdoor spaces more bilingual, one hike at a time.
