The Backcountry Film Festival is produced each year by the Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA) as a celebration of the human-powered winter experience and a gathering place for the backcountry snowsports community.
2024 season
The screening in Naarm / Melbourne will happen on monday April 22, 2024. Co-hosted by RMIT Outdoors Club and Friends of the Earth.
The program will feature speakers, info stalls, 2 locally produced films and 10 films from the WWA program.
You can find the current lineup of films here.
It will be in the same theatre as last year – 6.45pm start – we have an action packed show to get through!
Tickets available here > https://www.melbournefoe.org.au/bc_festival_2024
2023 season
Back in real life!
Co-hosted by RMIT Outdoors Club and Friends of the Earth, the 2023 season will happen at RMIT in Melbourne on wednesday May 3.
Tickets available soon.
Details on the films and venues here.
https://themountainjournal.com/2023/03/08/backcountry-film-festival-2023/
2022 season
Due to the difficulties of finding a suitable venue under Covid uncertainty, we will run the festival as a virtual event again.
Presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance each year, the Backcountry Film Festival screens stories of outdoor stewardship, grassroots policy and advocacy work, backcountry adventure, and snow cinema by human-powered advocates, athletes, activists, and outdoor enthusiasts.
The 2021 festival will run from DEC 3 – 13, 2021 and features 14 films over two hours. Yes we are getting in early this year!
The festival is shown around the world. In Victoria, Friends of the Earth is the local host. This year we are screening the festival as an online event.
This means you buy a ticket, then watch it anytime (and as many times as you like) between December 3 and December 13.
Tickets: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged.
Full details on the films and tickets available here.
Screening in Bright
Bright Brewery have offered to host a screening at the brewery on DEC 1, 2021. Tickets are $20.
2021 season
The Backcountry Film Festival (BCFF) is an annual, community film festival presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance. It is a collection of human-powered stories and backcountry-inspired experiences, and aims to generate conversations about the wild and inspire action.
The 16th Annual Backcountry Film Festival is screening documentaries and ski movies about athletic pursuit in the mountains, artistic vision, friendship, and how the snowsports community is adapting to a changing environment.
The Backcountry Film Festival is back for 2021! This annual, pre winter event features a range of backcountry and winter related films.
Harrietville screening – May 5
FITSKI is something of an institution in Harrietville. It happens before winter to help get the community fit for the snow.
The May session will include a screening of the Backcountry Film Festival.
Film screening, followed by soups, Hot Chocolate and Glühwein.
We’ll introduce you to the FITSKI exercises.
There will be a short talk about Mountain Safety Collective
WHEN: 05.05.2021 at 18:00
WHERE: Harrietville Community Hall
COSTS: by donation (proceeds will be split btw Harrietville Community Hall and Mountain Safety Collective avalanche safety centre (ATC) Crowd Fund).
You can see the trailer for the film here.
Online screening
Because of the difficulty of finding a low cost, large venue in a time of covid restrictions, this year we are running it as a virtual screening.
Please join us for the 2021 screenings.
How does it work?
When you buy your ticket, you will receive a link to the films. The total run time of the festival is 1 hour 45 minutes (check here for the full listing of films and to see the season trailer). All funds raised will support Friends of the Earth’s climate justice campaigning (details here).
The festival will be available to view any time between 6:00am AEDT on March 14 until March 29 at 11:59pm AEDT.
Facebook event page available here.
2020 season
You can see the trailer for the season here.
Melbourne show
ANNOUNCEMENT: Melbourne screening cancelled
With the Andrews government now announcing a State of Emergency for Victoria, we feel that the responsible thing for us to do is to cancel this screening of the festival.
We will monitor the situation and re-schedule if and when it’s appropriate.
In the meantime, stay safe, walk some trails, look out for each other, and wash your hands!
The Melbourne show will happen on Wednesday 25 March.
TIME: Please feel free to arrive from 6.30pm. Films from 7pm – 9.30pm.
VENUE: RMIT, Building 80, Level 1, room 2, Melbourne.
445 Swanston Street Melbourne (between Franklin and A’Beckett streets). Easily accessible by public transport (trams on Swanston Street or trains via Melbourne Central).
TICKETS: Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged. There are no online sales. Tickets available at the door. There will be plenty of room. Sorry, cash only sales on the night (there are ATMs available next door). There is a seating capacity of 180 people.
Co-hosted with RMIT Outdoors Club.
All proceeds will go to the Friends of the Earth climate campaign.
Facebook event page for Melbourne screening here.
FILMS
We will start the evening with some short locally made backcountry films. Then show the BCFF program (10 films – please see below). You can also find additional information on the films here.
Peak Obsession
Cody Townsend has set out on an audacious goal, a never been done before feat, to climb and ski all 50 lines chronicled in the book, “The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America”. Developed into a widely successful follow-along web series, Peak Obsession dives into the depths of the mindset behind the project told through the story of two of the most challenging lines in the book. Joined by legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones, along with cameraman Bjarne Salen, they set out on an adventure rife with challenge, exhaustion, steeps and a little bit of schadenfreude.
Cody Townsend and Bjarne Salen | 32 min 31 sec
Leave Nice Tracks
Filmed in Vermont over nearly four years, Leave Nice Tracks follows a group of individuals who partnered with local and state government to change backcountry skiing in the Northeast by creating sustainable and managed terrain. The full film premieres November 7th, 2019.
Dan Cirenza, Marius Becker, and Kyle Crichton | 4 min
Khutrao
A group of splitboarders, guided by their Mapuche friend and guide Isaac, explore the virgin snow-capped mountains of his family’s ancestral lands; where they learn how the Mapuche’s bond with the land and the Earth can maintain places untouched for centuries, yet open to those who want to experience them in a respectable way.
Agreste Chile | Time TBD
Endless Winter Chapter 1
Norwegian pro skier Nikolai Schirmer does an experiment to see if he can ski better with lower emissions. Joined by his friends Krister Kopala and Eirik Verlo he sets out into the darkness of Norwegian winter chasing the ultimate ride.
Nikolai Schirmer | 14 min
Drawn to High Places
In Drawn to High Places, artist Nikki Frumkin balances chaos, power, and beauty in her watercolor paintings of the Pacific Northwest’s most dramatic mountain ranges, breathing a new life and sense of wonder into these landscapes we cherish.
Outdoor Research | 5 min 28 sec
Colters Route. A legacy of Adventure
Sawyer Thomas and friends spend six months following the adventures of pioneer John Colter across the Yellowstone and the Tetons.
Sawyer Thomas and Riis Wilbrecht | Time TBD
Climate Change. In the Kennels
Denali National Parks’ mushers and dogs are seeing the direct results of climate change.
Denali National Parks | 3 min 33 sec
Can’t Ski Vegas
On paper we’d come in search of the biggest ski lines of our lives. But the reality was that we simply had come to celebrate friendship. To withdraw into the wild, to remove distractions and cell service and emails, and to invest purposeful time into being together. I guess that’s the real meaning of a bachelor party.
Joey Schulser, Ben Page, and Thomas Woodson | 10 min 43 sec
Backflippers
In the World of Freeride, there is a lot of variants: the comps, the tricks, the sponsors and the “big” names who travel around amazing places to produce their movies. Backflippers tells about another side of the Freeride scenery. Throughout winter a group of kids, between 13 and 18, takes part of a learning program in Montafon here in the Alps. With the coaching of Jani and Simo, their trainers, the kids learn about skiing off-piste, reading terrain, tricks, safety and, last but not least, enjoying the white mountain. All this without forgetting that Freeride is, first of all, a game and pure fun! At this young age the kids with their own and unique personality and of course with their different ambitions, embrace deeply the love for skiing and they never miss the opportunity to go Upside Down!
Luigi Dellarole | 3 min 41 sec
A Climb for Equality
Over the course of her career as a ski mountaineer, Caroline Gleich started to realize why only 11% of the people standing on the world’s tallest summits are women. Not only do they often have a sense of not belonging—but many manufacturers don’t even make gear in their size.
By documenting and sharing her adventures, Caroline is out to change the face of mountaineering. Her #climbforequality on Everest this spring invites more women to overcome not just the obvious challenges of mountaineering, but the unseen ones too.
Rylo | 7 min
2019 season
Melbourne
MANY THANKS to everyone who came along to the Melbourne show. We raised $1,645 for the Friends of the Earth climate campaign.
To go on the mailing list for next year, please email Cam: cam.walker@foe.org.au
The Backcountry Film Festival is produced each year by Winter Wildlands Alliance as a celebration of the human-powered winter experience and a gathering place for the backcountry snowsports community.
In 2019 it features a program of ten films, including productions from Colorado, Washington state, California and China.
Tuesday April 30.
TIME: Bar from 6.30pm. Films from 7pm – 9.30pm.
Co-hosted with RMIT Outdoors Club.
VENUE: Storey Hall (RMIT), 342-344 Swanston St, Melbourne.
TICKETS: Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged. There are no online sales. Tickets available at the door. There will be plenty of room. Sorry, cash only sales on the night (there are ATMs available next door).
There will be a bar run by the RMIT Outdoors Club before the films start.
Facebook event page for Melbourne available here.
You can check the trailer for the 2019 season here.
This screening is family friendly.
All proceeds go to support the climate campaigns of Friends of the Earth. Previous years have supported the successful campaign to gain the ban on fracking in the state and the campaign for a Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET). This year it will support our campaign to stop the development of offshore oil and gas exploration in western Victoria.
Film line-up for 2019.
Ode to Muir
Teton Gravity Research – Our exclusive Festival cut of Ode To Muir speaks the entire feature-length film as professional snowboarder, adventurer and founder of Protect Our Winters Jeremy Jones joins forces with two-time Olympian Elena Hight to embark on a 40-mile foot-powered expedition deep into California’s John Muir Wilderness.
Ski the Wild West
In 2017 Drew Petersen sought to ski the 11 highest peaks in the American West on one epic road trip. Accompanied by filmmaker and Winter Wildlands Alliance Ambassador, Thomas Woodson, this film is sure to be a pleasant walk down memory lane for anyone who has adventured throughout the West.
The Abbey
DPS Cinematic – A spiritual view into any snowbird’s head waiting for the season to start.
The Backcountry Snowsports Initiative
In this upbeat, Sunday morning op-ed of a short film we learn about the human-powered recreation advocacy organization, the Backcountry Snowsports Initiative, and their annual hut trip near Leadville, Colorado where they host a variety of stakeholders to ski, cook, and talk about winter recreation policy.
Abandoned
Another exclusive Festival cut focusing on Berthoud Pass, a crew of backcountry skiers set out to explore Colorado’s lost ski areas hopes to find adventure amongst the ruins.
Blue
Blue is a testament to the inherent creativity, innovation and strength forged in women of the north. In it we present a spectacle of winter innovation—the icy playground providing a visual journey as never seen before by bike.
I Am Here
“My parents never even thought about climbing a mountain.” Yesenia grew up living in a small farmer’s cabin in the apple orchards of Oregon’s Hood River Valley. Watch Yesi’s journey to climb Mount St. Helens, pursue her own American dream, and inspire Latinx outdoor enthusiasts everywhere.
Surfer Dan
Beyond the tale of his frosted beard, this is a story about Dan Schetter’s passion for surfing on Lake Superior in the depths of winter, and how he credits the sport to saving his life.
Searching for Christmas Tree
A university teacher looking to break free from a life of routine in China and a mysterious frozen waterfall that no one knows the whereabouts, spins this story of seemingly futile quests and ultimately transcending climb.
Westward: Brennan Lagasse
An important message from Winter Wildlands Alliance Ambassador, educator and athlete, Brennan Lagasse, on the significance and the impact of the backcountry.
If you would like to go on the announce list for the 2019 screenings please email Cam: cam.walker@foe.org.au with ‘BC film festival’ and your state in the subject line.
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2018 season
The backcountry film festival is going to be great this year. We have shows in Melbourne (May 9), Sydney (April 21), Jindabyne (July 7) and Canberra (July 25).
Details on each of these shows are posted below. Scroll down for details on show dates and locations plus the films that are being shown in the 2018 season.
—- BACKCOUNTRY FESTIVAL AT FALLS CREEK —-
If you’re here looking for details on the Backcountry skiing and riding festival, being held at Falls Creek on September 1 and 2, 2018, please check the festival website here.
You will find details on contributing a film to the Australian made backcountry film festival, being held in Falls Creek on the evening of September 1 here.
—- THE BACKCOUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL [BCFF] —-
There is a great line up of films, eight in total, covering a range of continents and aspects of backcountry skiing/ riding and snow culture.
If you’re interested in organising a local show, please get in touch: cam.walker@foe.org.au
And to go on the mailing list for upcoming shows, please mail me with ‘BC Film festival’ in the subject line.
Canberra
18 Pirie St Fyshwick.
Tickets can be reserved for FREE but entry is by donation to the Mountain Critter Cause at the door.
Check here for full details and to book tickets.
Jindabyne
July 7th 2018
Doors Open at 6pm – Hosted by Snow safety Australia
Venue – Jindabyne Central School
Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged.
Tickets at the door.
There will be plenty of room.
Melbourne
Thanks to everyone who came along to the show. We had around 180 people and raised almost $2,100 for the climate campaign (Thanks!).
May 9. 7pm – 9.30pm.
Co-hosted with RMIT Outdoors Club.
Storey Hall (RMIT), 342-344 Swanston St, Melbourne.
Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged. Tickets at the door. There will be plenty of room.
There will be a bar run by the RMIT Outdoors Club before the films start.
In addition to the BCFF program, we will be showing:
Mount Townsend 2209 – Australian Freeride Story (3 mins 53 sec)
In keeping with our tradition of showing an Australian backcountry film at the start of the program, this year we have a great short production about a late season mission in 2016 to ski Mt Townsend on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains.
Film maker Lachlan Humphreys says
With the Australian ski season coming to the end, I joined Australian sisters and pro skiers, Anna and Nat Segal, for one last push for the hills. Filmed in October last year, Mount Townsend 2209 follows Anna and Nat as they spend five days camping and touring together under the peak of Mount Townsend, together with their American/Canadian skier friend, Holly Walker.
Ski touring is undergoing a rebirth; a new form of free skiing, attracting people to the great outdoors and encouraging people to venture beyond the boundaries of ski resorts. There is no better way to explore the vast terrain Australia has tucked away than to camp out under the stars and experience the magic of the sunset on the western faces.
The sisters’ mission was to nut out a plan for their upcoming ski film, Finding the Line and they felt Mount Townsend was no better place to do so.
Produced by Clean Line Productions
Backcountry film festival line-up 2018
The Space Within
Exploring the tidepools of a deserted tropical beach, a young boy finds a mysterious treasure washed upon the rocks. The space within whispers of another world, holding magic unlike anything he has seen before.
DPS Skis Cinematic | 5 min 28 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/the-space-within/
Ruth Gorge
In this short expedition skiing piece, Noah Howell and Ben Peters head into Alaska’s Ruth Gorge to see what they can find. With great weather, good preparedness and a ton of lucky they tick off two incredible steep skiing lines in one of the most beautiful settings on the planet. Shot in light and fast gorilla style, these two ski mountaineers provide a well documented epic adventure sharing what they love to do most.
Noah Howell | 8 min 1 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/ruth-gorge/
Below Zero
Nature has two meanings, on the one hand it is the natural environment where all living and inorganic beings develop; And on the other, nature is understood as the essence of a Being. To destroy nature, not to respect its wealth, dynamism and laws, is equivalent to not respecting the human being who must live from it and with it. When it is not treated properly and with benevolence to the nature, the human being does not behave with dignity with its fellowmen.
The human being is becoming more and more aware of the need to preserve the natural environment in which he develops. Ecological problems are also moral problems, since the well-being of the human being and his subsistence depends on its solution.
Below 0 ° is an animated short film that uses fictional documentary as its main narrative resource. The main theme concerns the life of Vladimir Kozlov, a 50-year-old Russian-born meteorologist, who by the time of the alleged audio recording would have had about 20 years of living in the Arctic. The events narrated in this audiovisual were based on the decade of the fifties of the twentieth century.
The events are narrated metaphorically from a voice recording of Kozlov himself, who is accustomed to document his experiences and thoughts experienced in this inhospitable place, in such a way that the voice that is heard is that of the character himself.
Itai Hagage | 4 min 54 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/below-0/
The End of Snow
Dr. Jane Zelikova is a tropical ecologist living in the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. She dreams of snow in the summer and tropical forests in the dead of winter. But her snow-capped Fourteeners are changing – no longer bringing the deep winter snowpack once promised. This is a future from which she and the people of the West can’t run. What’s a wildly curious, adventurous girl to do? Embark on a journey into the mountains to find the tales of the past, present and future of snow. There will be adventure. Friendships will form. She will dig holes, and fall down those holes. But like any good story, the characters she meets will help show her the way, a map for living in a world beyond the end of snow.
Jane Zelikova and Morgan Heim | 20 min 35 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/the-end-of-snow/
Follow Through
People have opinions about skier Caroline Gleich: Inspirational. Gumby. Social media star. Role model. Model masquerading as a mountaineer. At sixteen, she stumbled upon a copy of the cult classic guidebook The Chuting Gallery. Irreverent and wonderfully arbitrary, the guidebook lays out a set of 90 ski mountaineering lines across Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. They were difficult and dangerous. When she first said out loud she wanted to ski them, she was met with laughter. “Maybe it was because I was five feet tall, or I was a little blonde girl, but I remember that clearly — and it didn’t feel good” says Gleich. After a decade building her skills, Gleich set out to complete her vision and become the skier she dreamt of being. ‘Follow Through’ is a story of loss, belonging and desire for respect. In this age of hyperconnectivity, which voices do we choose to hear and which do we ignore?
Anya Miller and Becca Cahall | 21 min 48 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/follow-through/
Genesis
A trio of powder professors ascend Alaska’s Chugach, rising above the desolate and rain-soaked primordial soup of lower elevations, and evolving upwards into the purple-hued peaks that tower above the clouds — a world of brilliant color and life. The mountains become the laboratory in which they embark upon extensive study and experimentation, in order to form theories on some of mankind’s oldest questions: how did life begin, and what makes this life worth living?
DPS Skis Cinematic | 5 min 50 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/genesis/
Idaho’s 12vers Project
Join Mark Ortiz on his self-filmed venture to ski all of Idaho’s Twelve-Thousand footer peaks last season. Project alternatively known as “It’s just right over there”.
Mark Ortiz | 12 min 10 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/idaho-12vers-project/
Adventure Not War
“I came home from war. War never really left me.
Some of my friends came back in boxes. Others filled those boxes Stateside. Climbing and skiing kept me out of the grave.
In order to come all the way home and to leave war behind, I’m going back to ski and climb with a few friends.”
Follow Stacy Bare in this film with his ongoing project Adventure Not War: To promote world peace and understanding through adventure.
Max Lowe | 7 min 35 sec
https://winterwildlands.org/adventure-not-war/
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Sydney
The 2018 Sydney screening of the Backcountry Film Festival will happen on saturday April 21.
For the third year, the Sydney screening will be hosted by the NSW Nordic Ski Club.
This year we will highlight some awesome Australian short films set in the backcountry of Kosciuszko and the Victorian Alps.
Light refreshments included.
Celebrate human endeavour in the backcountry, wild Australian and overseas landscapes and settle in for a great night.
McMahons Point Community Centre, upper hall
165 Blues Point Road
McMahons Point, NSW
7:00 pm
Tickets are $16/ $24. You can book tickets here.
A facebook page for the event is available here.
Melbourne
May 9. 7pm – 9.30pm.
Co-hosted with RMIT Outdoors Club.
Storey Hall (RMIT), 342-344 Swanston St, Melbourne.
Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged. Tickets at the door. There will be plenty of room.
There will be a bar run by the RMIT Outdoors Club before the films start.
In addition to the BCFF program, we will be showing:
Mount Townsend 2209 – Australian Freeride Story (3 mins 53 sec)
In keeping with our tradition of showing an Australian backcountry film at the start of the program, this year we have a great short production about a late season mission in 2016 to ski Mt Townsend on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains.
Film maker Lachlan Humphreys says
With the Australian ski season coming to the end, I joined Australian sisters and pro skiers, Anna and Nat Segal, for one last push for the hills. Filmed in October last year, Mount Townsend 2209 follows Anna and Nat as they spend five days camping and touring together under the peak of Mount Townsend, together with their American/Canadian skier friend, Holly Walker.
Ski touring is undergoing a rebirth; a new form of free skiing, attracting people to the great outdoors and encouraging people to venture beyond the boundaries of ski resorts. There is no better way to explore the vast terrain Australia has tucked away than to camp out under the stars and experience the magic of the sunset on the western faces.
The sisters’ mission was to nut out a plan for their upcoming ski film, Finding the Line and they felt Mount Townsend was no better place to do so.
Produced by Clean Line Productions
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2017 Season
We’re very glad to be able to announce details on the 2017 program. There are shows locked in for Melbourne (May 30) and Sydney (July 26).
If you’re interested in hosting a local event, please contact Cam. cam.walker@foe.org.au
Harrietville
For details on the showing at Harrietville on August 31, please check here.
Sydney show
NSW Nordic Ski Club presents the 2017 Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival
Wednesday 26 July, 7.30pm, McMahons Point Community Hall, McMahons Point/North Sydney
All welcome.
Following on from our screening last year, this year we are having an intimate screening of the Winter Wildlands, 2017, Backcountry Film Festival at the McMahons Point Community Hall, 165 Blues Point Rd, McMahons Point, on Wednesday 26, July. It is a public event open to everyone to celebrate all things snow and the human powered mountain experience.
The film line-up this year is a mix of adventure, winter sports films, community based environmental films, and films of traditional cultures still using skis in the modern age. There are 9 inspiring short films. We are again generously supported by Paddy Pallin.
Come along, share the excitement and fun of the night at this intimate “one-off” screening. You will have the chance to go home with some nice lucky door prizes. There will also be a fundraising raffle on the night for Friends of the Earth, Australia to help support them in the valuable work they do.
Free admission to current members of the NSW Nordic Ski Club.
$15 per person for non-members or join up on the night and get in free.
If you missed it last year, make sure you make it this time. It will be a cosy, fun night with a great mix of inspiring films, nibbles and revelry.
See you there! Purchase your tickets now! (or at the door on the night).
Facebook page for the event available here.
Melbourne show
THANKS to everyone who came to the 2017 show. We had almost 180 people attend and raised about $1,800 for the Friends of the Earth climate campaign. Thankyou to Charlotte and Mike Garrett for their film ‘The Hunt for White October’ and Mike’s comments about the value of getting kids into the backcountry.
You can go on the list to be alerted to the show next year by emailing Cam: cam.walker@foe.org.au
The 2017 show will be held on
Tuesday May 30 (7pm – 9pm)
Herbert Wilson Theatre, Melbourne University
This is in the Doug McDonnell Building (blg 103), just behind the Sidney Myer Asia Centre. You can enter off Swanston Street or Grattan Street. Map available here.
Cost suggested at $8 (conc)/$15
You don’t need to pre book, there’s plenty of room so please just show up.
There is a facebook page for the event available here.
PROGRAM FOR THE EVENING
Please arrive by 7pm. At 7.15, we will be showing the lovely short film ‘the Hunt for White October’, about a late season mission to Mt Loch in the Victorian high country. It will be introduced by 12 year old Charlotte, who made the film with her dad Mike.
Then we will get into the BC festival program.
The Hunt for White October
In addition to the Winter Wildlands Alliance backcountry film festival (see below), this year we’re showing a short film from the end of last season:
When the lifts stop spinning in September, Hotham becomes an overnight ghost town.
But from the highest winter road in Australia lies a backcountry bonanza, with lines only as limited as one’s imagination and fitness. With a plethora of terrific camping spots, it’s the perfect place to introduce kids to backcountry skiing, especially as a hasty retreat back to the car is always a possibility. The days are warmer and longer, and the spring corn can frequently be sublime.
It’s no secret that kids love camping, and the evidence of the benefits of nature for their development is compelling. Learning to climb with skins improves their skiing and snow-craft, and basic themes of safety can be introduced.
This October, a freak Southern Ocean “cyclone” brought floods and buckets of spring snow well after everybody had packed up and left for the beach.
And so the Hunt began…
Charlotte Garrett will introduce this lovely 5 minute film she made with her dad Mike.
The Backcountry film festival program
This year’s Winter Wildlands Alliance festival features eleven films:
Reflections. Short by Filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski (of Solitaire and Valhalla fame).
Lifecycle of a Powderwhore. A story about Jonah Howell, one half of the Powderwhore Productions film company. “But it wasn’t until he borrowed his dad’s camcorder and together with his brother Jonah, started crafting ski edits of his friends that the idea occurred to him that he might be able to make a living, albeit a dirtbag one, from the ski bum way of life”.
AK Girls Way. Set in Alaska, AK Girls Way features Liz Daley and Caroline Gleich. Liz is remembered as a consummate mountain guide with an infectious enthusiasm for life.
Snow School. “The first-ever film to feature Winter Wildlands Alliance’s National SnowSchool program, which engages 32,000 youth across 60 sites.”
There on the periphery. “Filmmaker Joel Wolpert takes us on a midwinter dream with professional trail runner Ricky Gates.
An Education. “What does it take to complete Lilliana’s goal to Backcountry Ski in Antarctica at the age of 11? Follow daughter-father duo Lilliana and Mike Libecki on their journey to the far corner of the globe.”
Season on the Brink. “Mother nature is neither for you nor against you, just indifferent. A lot happened last winter in the northeast (USA); some of it great and some of it terrible. Come along for the ride with a group of close friends who set out to explore deeper into the northeastern backcountry, and along the way came face-to-face with the harsh realities of making sound decisions in the mountains.”
Pace. Pedals to Peaks. “Everyone explores differently. For professional adventure skier Brody Leven, a human-powered pace defines exploration. Lucky for him, when riding a gear-laden bicycle around arctic Norway to climb and ski peaks, slow is the only option.”
The Lost Sierra. “The U.S. Forest Service is currently planning for the future of winter use on public lands across the country. The process has begun on five forests in northern California, including the Plumas. The Lost Sierra gives us a snapshot of the history and of the current day culture of skiing in the Sierras.”
China, a skiers journey. “Skiing as sport is in it’s infancy in China, a phenomenon of the country’s exploding middle class. As a means of survival however, it is thousands of years old, a stone age hunter-gatherer technology born in the Altai mountains where China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Siberia merge.”
Snowartist. “By creating mesmerizing designs in the snow by walking in a pair of snowshoes the British artist Simon Beck takes hiking in the mountains to a whole other level. Simon Beck was one of 4 artists that were invited to Stryn in Norway. The inspiration they found here led to unique art projects.”
For details on all films please check here.
All funds raised will be used for the Friends of the Earth climate campaign. Over the past year we have helped gain a permanent ban on the process of fracking here in Victoria and helped establish the Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET). Funds will be used to further our work on coal, gas and energy transformation.
With many thanks to the University of Melbourne Student Union for their support in hosting this event.
Thanks to Wild magazine for this plug for the 2017 season.
The BCFF is produced each year by the Winter Wildlands Alliance as a celebration of the human-powered experience and a gathering place for the backcountry snowsports community.
Winter Wildlands Alliance is a nonprofit organization working at the national level to inspire and educate the backcountry community to protect and care for their winter landscapes. It is based in Boise, Idaho.
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2016 Season
Thanks to everyone who came along to the 2016 season. We had great nights in Melbourne and Sydney.
If you would like to be notified of future events later in the year or the details on the 2017 BC festival showings, please email cam.walker@foe.org.au Thanks.
We have confirmed screenings in Sydney and Melbourne.Please see below for the lineup of films and listings of the showings.
Line up for the 2015/16 Backcountry film festival
- The Weight of Winter, filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski brings us a ride to tune in, sit back, and enjoy. (4.30 mins)
- I Love Splitboarding, a fresh way to play in the backcountry along with a fresh way of living. A film by Right on Brother opens up the world of splitboarding. (6.36)
- Shifting Ice, from filmmaker Kt Miller, is an all-women team on a journey at the intersection of scientific exploration and, of course, grueling fun. (30.00)
[INTERMISSION]
- The Forecaster, expert Avalanche Forecaster Drew Hardesty leads by example, paying respect to the responsibility that comes with our backcountry freedom. From Spindle Productions. (3.40)
- 55 Hours in Mexico, in true tribute to weekend warriors, Joey, Karl, Thomas, and filmmaker Max Lowe take us on an adventure of 55 Hours in Mexico. (9.10)
- Always Above Us gives us a glimpse of the tremendous amount of sacrifice and hardship involved in the life of a climber. Sherpas Cinema follows Kris Erickson and Conrad Anker in a memoir for David Bridges and Alex Lowe. (12.47)
https://sherpascinema.com/alwaysaboveus/
- Connections, the Dynafit team shares the story of the simple “low tech” design that changed the face of backcountry skiing. (9.28)
http://www.dynafit.com/connections
- Shared Lines features the story of Vermont Backcountry Alliance and their community in a short film by T-Bar Films. (5.34)
- Japan by Van immerses us in the head-deep powder of the Shirakawa backcountry. A Sweetgrass Productions film. (4.47)
http://www.patagonia.com/us/trips/JapanByVan–93678
Backcountry film festival in Sydney
Saturday April 30
The NSW Nordic Ski Club is hosting a screening of the Backcountry Film Festival – this Film Festival features 9 short snow and ski films selected by the American Winter Wildlands Alliance. The Festival is renowned for its mix of professional and grassroots films, from well-known filmmakers who search backcountry corners across the globe to submit their best work to first-timers who take a video camera out on their weekend excursions.
BOOK NOW
http://www.trybooking.com/Booking/BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=181194&embed=181194
There are limited places in the hall.
There is a facebook page for the event available here.
Melbourne
Monday May 2
‘Public Lecture Theatre’ in Old Arts Building
Melbourne University, Carlton.
Map available here.
Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged. Tickets at the door. There will be plenty of room.
All proceeds go to the Friends of the Earth climate campaign against new coal and gas drilling in Victoria.
7 – 9pm. Films start at 7.15pm. There will be a short intermission.
Hosted by Friends of the Earth and Melbourne University Ski Club.
Facebook page for the event here.
Further information: Cam Walker 0419 338 047 cam.walker@foe.org.au
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2014-15 Backcountry Film Festival
Now in its 10th year the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival celebrates the human powered winter experience through film. The festival aims to entertain while helping to raise funds and awareness for Winter Wildlands and our like-minded partners. This is the 5th year the festival has been shown in Australia.
Final showing 2015 – Jindabyne – August 21
The final showing of the 2015 season will be held as part of the NSW Splitfest DownUnder , the annual split board gathering held in the Snowy Mountains.
This year it will be held on weekend of the 21-23rd of August in the NSW main range.
Register here.
We will be holding the Friday night entertainment at the Banjo Paterson Inn Starting @ 6pm
1 Kosciuszko Road Jindabyne.
There will be T-Shirts, give a ways, raffles and loads of fun. Some of the prize categories include worst DIY job, most inventive Splitboard design etc. etc.
A selection of films from the season will be shown.
Canberra show
For the first time, the festival is coming to Canberra.
To share the excitement about human powered skiing the ANU mountain club is hosting a back country ski film night. We’ll be showing the Backcountry Film Festival put together by the Winter Wildlands Alliance.
We ask for a $5 donation from students and $10 from non-students with proceeds going to the Australian Himalayan Foundation.
Thursday July 23.
Facebook event page here.
Sydney show
Many thanks to Rob and all the staff at Patagonia Sydney for hosting the 2015 show.
We had about 140 people attend.
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. Scroll down this page to get a full list of films.
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.
Melbourne show
Thursday May 21, 2015
Thanks to everyone who came along to the Melbourne show. Close to 130 people!
To go on the mailing list for next year, please email Cam: cam.walker@foe.org.au
Cinema at RMIT. Building 80.
Level 1, Room 2, 445 Swanston Street.
Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $15 waged.
All proceeds go to the Friends of the Earth climate campaign against new coal and gas drilling in Victoria.
Facebook page here.
The cinema is Room 80.01.02 (It can be hard to find, best bet is to enter off A’Beckett Street, just by the Oxford Scholar Hotel (map here). Its at the bottom of the stairs. If you enter off Swanston street, head down the stairs. Building 80 is on Swanston, between Latrobe and Franklin street, opposite the main RMIT campus.
Feel free to meet at the Oxford Scholar for a drink from 6.30pm. Please aim to arrive at the Cinema around 7, we will start the films at 7.15pm. There will be a 20 minute break half way through, and the films will end around 9.30pm.
The festival will also be shown during the 2015 Splitfest (splitboarding festival) being held in the Snowy Mountains, on friday August 22 in Jindabyne.
Please get in touch if you want to help organise a show. Cam. walker@foe.org.au
2014-15 Backcountry Film Festival Line Up
World Premiere! Find your line
Few people are aware that backcountry Australia hides some big-mountain slopes, even less are willing to journey there for it. Yet the western slopes of the Snowy Mountains has some grand terrain for backcountry skiing and boarding.
Season 2014 delivers conditions of a decade for one splitboarder.
We are delighted to be showing this 8 minute film by Nicholas Rivers during the backcountry film festival this year.
Backcountry Film Festival line-up for 2014:
From the Road (21:00) Fischer Creative. From The Road is centered on a human powered ski adventure in Alaska with a diverse team of ski athletes on iconic peaks in the heart of the Chugach Mountains. Trailer available here.
Afterglow (11:35) Sweetgrass Production. This visually spectacular film lights up the backcountry like never before.
Backcountry Baker (5:15) Jeremy Lurgio. The story of Labrador retriever Baker and his owner as they pursue their love of mountains through backcountry skiing in Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains.
Out on a Limb (6:44) T-bar Films. The story of Vasu, who’s love for skiing and the backcountry overcomes all obstacles. There is an interview with Vasu on the Wild website.
95 to Infinity (3:30) Doglotion Media. Follow brothers Andy and Mike Traslin as they clock up 95 months worth skiing.
IRS Traverse (8:00) Luc Mehl. A fun and quirky adventure through the Alaskan Wilderness.
Powder Pilgrimage (20:00) Joey Howell. Features the adventures of two friends as they road trip to Valdez in Alaska, a trip we should all take at least once.
Sundog (5:15) Sturge Films. Capturing the dog days of skiing in Patagonia.
Higher (20:00) Teton Gravity Research. Continuing the journey of athlete Jeremy Jones as he reaches new heights. This is the third film in Jeremy’s snowboarding trilogy and features a descent of the Grand Teton in Wyoming. Check the trailer here.
Sydney show
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.
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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2014 season – Backcountry film festival
Thanks to everyone who came along to the 2014 festival in Melbourne. More than 100 people attended. Thanks to MU Ski Club for hosting us, and to Watkin for showing the film about skiing on Mt Bogong.
Stay tuned for details on winter shows at Falls Creek and Jindabyne.
Now in its 9th year the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival celebrates the human powered winter experience through film.
The festival is now a pre winter event here in Australia, in its 4th season.
The Melbourne show for 2014 will be held on
Wednesday the 14th May
FBE Theatre 1, 111 Barry St (Melbourne Uni), Carlton. Between Pelham and Gratton streets, short walk from #19 and #59 trams up Elizabeth street.
From 6.30pm, films start at 7pm.
Program: arrive from 6.30pm. Films start at 7pm, and run til about 7.50pm. 15 min break, restarting with OFF GRID and then Valhalla. Ending around 8.40pm
Suggested donation: $8 conc & students/ $12 waged.
NB: please note that this year, because of the venue, we won’t have drinks for sale.
Co-hosted with Melbourne University Ski Club.
The festival is run by not-for-profit hosts, and in Australia, all funds raised will support the Friends of the Earth (FoE) climate campaign. Funds will go to FoE’s work with regional communities to stop the development of new coal mines and unconventional gas drilling across southern Victoria.
Facebook event page here: please feel free to invite your friends.
Check the trailer for the season here.
The films in this year’s festival are:
- Trail Break by Powderwhore, is a beautiful black and white portrait of deep powder skiing in Utah’s Wasatch Range.
- Nokhoi Zeekh: In search of Wolverine. A short film about the Darhad Ski Traverse. Narrated by Rebecca Watters, the film documents a month-long ski expedition through northern Mongolia to investigate one of the world’s most iconic but least-known winter adapted species.
- Morning Rituals, in Jackson Hole an undercover ski bum chronicles his daily dawn patrol on Teton Pass. Presented by Chris Dickey of Orange and Purple.
- Youth, in the Sierra Range of California, filmmaker Corey Rich inspires us to pack up the kids and proves that backcountry skiing can be a family affair.
- Bolton Valley is the story of how a small Vermont community fought to save their beloved ski area. Winner of “Best Conservation Film” award.
- Bigger Braver, Alaska based filmmaker Luc Mehl turns the camera on a young female athlete who shares her insight into the courage and strength involved in seeking big mountain adventure. Winner of “Best Short Film” award.
- Strong, filmmaker and storyteller Fitz Cahall at Duct Tape then Beer reflects about moving forward after a tragic avalanche on Snoqualmie Pass.
- Poor Man’s Heli, in France Antoine Boisselier thinks outside the skin track and comes up with a new and unique way to the top of the mountain. From Mike Douglas at Switchback Entertainment.
- Take the Ride, in which Patagonia filmmaker Jason Thompson asks the question; “when you have a dream will you buy the ticket? Will you Take the Ride?”
- Valhalla from Sweetgrass Productions and winner of the 2013 “Best of Festival,” is the tale of one man’s search to rediscover the freedom of his youth. Feeling the distant heat of its fire still burning in the mountains of the frozen north, he sets out in search of those tending the flame the untamed, the wild, and the outcast dwelling on the fringe .
In addition to the Winter Wildlands festival line-up, we will be showing a short Australian BC film:
- We will be SoO Airtime‘s new film OFF GRID. This will be the premier showing. “In 2012 seven adventurous skiers explored the Australian High Country. They camped, skied and filmed across one week’.
You can see the trailer here. The full film is here.
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2013 season – Backcountry film festival
We are planning to expand the BC festival this year, with shows in Melbourne and Sydney, plus a few ski towns. If you’re interested in helping organise venues in alpine resorts please get in touch.
The festival will be held in May, August and September. Details below.
The Winter Wildlands Alliance created the Backcountry Film Festival in 2005 to help grassroots and professional filmmakers to show audiences their love of the winter outdoors. Since then, the annual festival has become something of an institution amongst many outdoor communities.
The festival is now a pre winter event here in Australia.
Backcountry film festival 2013 season
The showings are listed in chronological order, except for the most recent, which is at the top.
Falls Creek
There is one last showing for 2013 – at Falls Creek, on friday September 20.
Many thanks to Brett Lemin for organising the evening, and to Falls Creek resort management for support, the Last Hoot cafe bar for hosting, and Patagonia for the give-aways.
Melbourne
This was the biggest show yet, almost 110 people came out on a cold and rainy night. Thanks to everyone that made the effort!
Wednesday May 15
At The South Melbourne Commons
corner of Bank & Montague St in South Melbourne
Suggested donation: $8 conc/ $12 waged
7pm. Come and grab a drink and catch up. We will have a bar serving basic drinks from 7. Lots of nearby places for dinner (suggest Clarendon street for good options).
7.30. Films start, the show runs til about 10pm (with a 20 minute break in the middle).
Check here for details on how to get to the Commons. Trams and the Light Rail are a few minutes walk away (#96 tram from Bourke street is a 3 minute walk if you get off at South Melbourne Market stop). Lots of parking at night.
Facebook event page here, feel free to invite your friends.
cam.walker@foe.org.au / 0419 338 047
Sydney
Many thanks to Patagonia for hosting this show, which included a new film supported by Patagonia, called Groundswell. It highlights the risk posed by a pipeline to a section of the coast of British Columbia, from a proposed Tar Sands pipeline and associated oil tanker traffic. We had about 50 people attend.
For the first time the BC fest is coming to Sydney.
It will be held on Monday May 20. See the poster for location details.
Many thanks to Patagonia Australia for hosting this event.
Melbourne
Thanks to Brett and everyone at Patagonia for hosting this showing. We had at least 60 people come along, a great crowd.
May 23. Please see poster for details.
Thanks to Patagonia for hosting a second Melbourne showing at their store in Chapel Street.
To book a ticket, please check here.
Jindabyne and Mt Hotham
For the first time, the BC film festival is jumping the border into NSW, with a showing planned during the 2nd Splitboard festival.
NSW:
It will be held on the Main Range over the weekend of August 23 – 25. Presented by FirstLight Boards.
The film showing will be on Friday August 23.
Please register for the Splitboard festival here.
VICTORIA:
Sept 6 – 8
FirstLight Snowboards are also bringing the splitboard festival to Victoria – Mt Hotham – over the weekend of September 6 til 8.
The film showing will be on friday September 6. At The General Hotel, Mt Hotham, starting at 6. This night will have raffles and give aways, an intro to what is happening with the split board festival, and lots of fun.
Check here for extra details.
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The films
The BC festival is a 90 minute event, featuring primarily short films, all with a focus on outdoor, human powered adventure.
Check here for the trailer for this year’s showing.
Films in this year’s showing:
Best of the Backcountry: “Skiing the Void” by Sweetgrass Productions. The Sweetgrass crew contemplates the price of pushing it too far in the ninth installment of their “On The Road” series with Solitaire.
Best Grassroots Film: “Alaska Wilderness Ski Classic” by Luc Mehl. This film documents an adventure race through the Brooks Range, Alaska. Covering 200 miles in 4 days, this group of skiers travels from Galbraith Lake to Wiseman, capturing all the beauty along the way.
Best Environmental Film: “Stories of Trust” by International Trust Campaign. This tells the story of Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, an 11-year-old boy from Boulder, Colorado. Xiuhtezcatl is asking that our atmosphere be protected, because he fears that the landscapes he most enjoys will not be there for his generation if we continue emitting carbon at current rates.
Other film selections include…
Unicorn Sashimi. Felt Soul Media from Telluride teamed up with Nick Waggoner and Yuki Mayazaki of Sweetgrass Productions to track a wild unicorn in Hokkaido, Japan. But all they found was delicious ramen — and deep, sweet snow. http://www.mountainfilm.org/film/unicorn-sashimi
Freedom Chair. Josh Dueck was a passionate free-skier who was paralysed in a skiing accident. Dueck refocused his passion into sit-skiing, and the experience allowed him to jump-start a new career and find a new way to do what he loves the best: ski. http://www.mountainfilm.org/film/the-freedom-chair
Denali Experiment. Features an attempt by skier Sage Cattabriga-Alosa and snowboarder Lucas Debari to climb and ride 20,320-foot Denali in Alaska — the highest peak in North America. http://www.tetongravity.com/blogs/Video-The-Denali-Experiment-Full-Length-Movie-5499545.htm
Further. Further is an inspiring effort from renowned snow boarder Jeremy Jones, which the second installment in his snowboard movie trilogy, Deeper, Further, Higher and features backcountry boarding in Alaska. Details here.
The festival is run by not-for-profit hosts, and in Australia, all funds raised will support the Friends of the Earth climate campaign.
For details on the festival, please contact Cam: cam.walker@foe.org.au
2012 season
Thanks to everyone who came along to the 2012 Melbourne show. 303 was at capacity, about 90 people.
There are plans for shows in winter – in Bright and Falls Creek and Hotham – stay tuned for details.
To go on the mailing list for future shows, email cam.walker@foe.org.au
The Melbourne showing is being held in early May.
Nine films over 90 minutes, celebrating human powered adventure and the backcountry life. Films cover skiing, boarding, walking, mountain biking and some pretty impressive kayaking.
Tuesday May 8
Films start at 8 pm. Please feel free to arrive earlier to grab a drink. There are lots of places to get dinner nearby. The evening should finish at about 10pm.
Venue: The festival is being held at the same venue as last year: 303 (303 High street, Northcote, Melbourne), tram stop #32 on the #86 tram. Its just next door to the Northcote Social Club.
303 is a licensed bar.
Entry by donation.
All funds raised will support Protect Our Winters and the Friends of the Earth climate campaign against new coal and CSG in Victoria.
You can watch the trailer here.
2012 Films
Best of the Festival: “Solitaire“, by Sweetgrass Productions
From the Sweetgrass website:
In the high desert of South America, winter takes hold, devouring bleached bones and abandoned shacks. Born in the spires of Argentina’s legendary Las Lenas, a lonely two-year journey begins through an abandoned world. wandering the length of a continent from Peru’s Cordillera Blanca to Chilean Patagonia, Solitaire fuses western-inspired tales of backcountry gambles into landscapes never before visited on film.
Best Short Award: “Chalk and Ski”, by Purple Orange
Best of the Backcountry Award: “Breaking Trail“, by Powderwhore
Powderwhore traditionally produce films with a focus on telemark skiing. This year: ” Powderwhore is no longer focusing primarily on the telemark turn. BREAKING TRAIL will highlight riders of all disciplines choosing their own backcountry adventures”.
And you have to love their sales pitch:
“Warning! There are no shots of helicopters filming other helicopters or hankie-clad 16-year-olds hepped up on energy drinks spinning to rap music. And you won’t win a Jeep if you come out to a premiere. You will find a mixed bag of highly talented and dedicated individuals who enjoy hiking out into the unknown in search of turns and adventure. All this captured by two video hacks carrying as little as necessary in order to travel fast and light.”
Other film selections include…
- 40 Tribes Kyrgyzstan
- Berber Turns. (You tube video available here).
- Ski Bums Never Die
- Winters of My Life. This is a portrait of Howard Weamer. For the past 35 years he has spent his winters as a hutkeeper in Yosemite’s backcountry.
- Seasons; Winter
- Bike, Ski, Raft Denali Traverse
For any enquiries please contact Cam.
cam.walker@foe.org.au
Event page on Facebook is here.
2011 season – Backcountry film festival
Thanks to everyone who came to the 2011 showings in Melbourne and at Dinner Plain. To go on the email list for the 2012 season, please email Cam: cam.walker@foe.org.au
Backcountry film festival at Dinner Plain
The 2011 season of the backcountry film festival is showing again, this time at Dinner Plain, in the Victorian Alps, on August 9th.
Tuesday 9th August, from 9 – 10.30pm
This is a free event, a small donation would be welcome. Six films. Drinks available from the bar.
Thanks to Hamish at the staff at DP Hotel for hosting the show.
Presented by Protect Our Winters.
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Melbourne show, April 2011
We held the 2011 festival in April in Melbourne. Many thanks to everyone who showed up. We will need a bigger venue next time.
There are showings in other parts of the country later in the year, scroll down for details.
To go on the mailing list for the 2012 show, please email Cam. cam.walker@foe.org.au
The Winter Wildlands Alliance created the Backcountry Film Festival in 2005 to help grassroots and professional filmmakers to show audiences their love of the winter outdoors. Since then, the annual festival has been shown in more than 30 towns and cities, and raised thousands of dollars to help efforts to preserve our winter environment.
The 2011 film festival is showing in Australia.
April 12
Films start at 8 pm. Please feel free to arrive earlier to grab a drink.
At 303 (303 High street, Northcote, Melbourne), tram stop #32 on the #86 tram. Its just next door to the Northcote Social Club.
303 is a licensed bar.
Entry by donation. All funds raised will support Protect Our Winters.
You can watch the trailer here.
Protect Our Winters is the environmental centre point of the winter sports community, united towards a common goal of reducing climate change’s effects on our sport and local mountain communities.
We believe that to really effect things, consumer behaviour needs to change and that the power of an actively participating and united community can have a direct influence on climate change, now and for generations behind us.
This year’s festival features:
Best of the Festival: Teton Gravity Research’s festival cut of “Deeper” follows legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones and other top riders as they forsake helicopters, snowmobiles and lifts to venture deep into untouched terrain under their own power.
Best Short Film: “Desert River” from Sweetgrass Productions, is a beautiful ski adventure into Alaska.
Best Environmental Film: “Whitebark Warrior” from TreeFight and Snaz Media, chronicles the decline of thousand-year old whitebark pines due to climate change and efforts underway to save these iconic high alpine trees.
Other Films Include:
* Australis, an Antarctic ski odyssey
* TELEvision (check here for a TELEvision trailer to give you a sense of whats on offer) and
* Cross Country Snowboarding
For extra information, please check the festival website.
For details on POW Australia, please contact Cam: cam.walker@foe.org.au
There will be other Australian screenings of the festival:
* at Mt Buller on 16th July.
* Jindabyne, dates TBC.
Snow Monkey has offered a 10% discount card to each person that attends the night.
They have shops in Collingwood and Mt Hotham.
Mountain Journal 
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