Events Archives - Winter Wildlands Alliance

Backcountry Film Festival 20th Annual Season Lineup

Emily Scott — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 17:24:49 +0000

Winter Wildlands Alliance Presents: The 20th Annual Backcountry Film Festival

The Backcountry Film Festival, presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance, celebrates the power and spirit of humans in winter.

Since its inception, the festival has toured across states, countries—even Antarctica—screening hundreds of inspiring films that celebrate adventure, conservation, and the magic of winter. Over the years, the festival has raised millions of dollars to support local projects that strengthen winter communities and protect our wild snowscapes.

The 2024-25 winter season, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Backcountry Film Festival! This milestone year showcases a dynamic lineup of short documentaries and ski films that transport audiences straight to the heart of winter. Adventure, travel, ski culture, ice, pain, laughter, and DEEP POWDER—you’ll find it all as the festival brings these powerful stories to towns around the world.

Join us on tour and be part of a movement that combines art, outdoor culture, and grassroots action to celebrate and protect winter for generations to come. Let’s make the 20th season our BEST tour yet!

Tour Schedule

Host a Screening

Film Descriptions

SURVIVING OUR STORY

2024-25 Human Powered Film Grant Winner

24:33 minutes

By Connor Ryan and Isaiah Branch Boyle

For two skiers caught in back-to-back Colorado avalanches, surviving the accident is only the beginning of the journey to reclaim their lives and find their way back to the snow.

DRAWN IN

7:33 minutes

By Jessa Gilbert and Justin Taylor Smith

Artist Jessa Gilbert finds inspiration, lines in the snow, and a beginning at the bottom of the world.

A ROSE FOR ALL

6:00 minutes

By Chris Kitchen, KGB Productions

Half an hour from downtown Reno, Nevada, lies a public gateway to wild snow. But can we make room for everybody?

SVEN – A LIFE IN FRONT OF THE LENS

16:05 minutes

By Gabe Rovick, F4D Studio

Veteran cover boy Sven Brunso may just be the most photographed man in backcountry skiing. Will he ever give up?

THE GLIDE

Backcountry Film Festival Jury Award Winner (2024)

3:00 minutes

By Luc Mehl

After several close calls in avalanches, Winter Wildlands Alliance’s Alaska-based ambassador Luc Mehl wanted to explore some different terrain.

A LINE IN THE SNOW

14:02 minutes

By Ryan Rumpca, Manifested Moose Media

Professional arctic explorer Annie Aggens, her daughters and their four-legged friends go winter camping in the wilds of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters.

THE POWER OF FOUR

7:33 minutes

By Forest Barton

Spandex, skinny skis, struggle and redemption in the headwaters of the Roaring Fork.

NOVELTY LINES

4:42 minutes

By Anthony Cupaiuolo, First Tracks Productions

Splitboarder Claire Hewitt-Demeyer pushes the limits of human-powered type 2 fun for a surprising first descent.

ON THIN SNOW

9:22 minutes

By Jonah Rafael and Kalef Steinberg

Avalanche scientist Brian Lazar digs into the increasingly variable snowpack in Colorado to see what climate change means for backcountry skiing.

NISEI

7:36 minutes

By Iz La Motte, Sierra Schlag

In the tension between her Japanese and American heritage, pro-skier Sierra Schlag finds graceful lines through deep powder.

SONG OF ICE

2:26 minutes

By Arthus Kauffeisen

A lyrical dance through frozen mountain landscapes with very earnest voiceover.

Tour Schedule

Host a Screening

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Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Submit Your Film to Backcountry Film Festival!

Melinda Quick — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 21:34:01 +0000

BCFF Needs Your Snow Stories

Share your wild winter stories with us by September 15 to be considered for the 20th annual season tour!

Photo by Joey Schusler (@joeyschusler)

Do you have a film that embodies the joy of being in the backcountry? Does it take place in winter? Are you using human power in your adventure? Submit your film today for FREE to be considered for the 2024-25 in-person and virtual tour.

What is BCFF?

A collage of human-powered stories and backcountry-inspired experiences, Backcountry Film Festival ignites wild conversations and inspires action to communities that celebrate the present while looking towards the future of wild winters.

Every winter, BCFF tours 100+ cities to raise funds for local hosts and bring backcountry communities together. Both in-person events and virtual screenings will be hosted.

What kind of stories are we looking for?

Our mission is to manifest the power of humans and their spirit. We screen cinematic stories of outdoor stewardship, grassroots policy and advocacy work, backcountry adventure, and snow cinema by human-powered advocates, athletes, brands, activists, adventurers, and outdoor enthusiasts.

We like pow shots and epic skiing but we also want to be inspired and share a good story. Tell us who you are and why you are out in the backcountry. We also like stories of conservation and environmental issues that impact winter recreation.

Here’s last season’s line-up for inspiration and alignment.

Submission Specs

Films must be between 1 to 30 minutes (considerations may be made for the right film) and tell an authentic story of backcountry, human-powered recreation or environmental preservation. We prefer 16:9 aspect ratio at HDTV 1920×1080 square pixels. Submitted films should either be in English or include English subtitles.

We also require a transcription or SubRip (.srt) file so we can do our best to use closed captioning in this season’s program.

Read more and submit at our FilmFreeway profile by September 15, 2024.

How does the Festival tour work?

Our Festival is hosted by grassroots groups and non-profits, local retailers, outdoor affinity groups, and many more community organizations. Visit our tour page here to see locations and hosts.

Funds raised stay in the local community to support human-powered recreation and conservation efforts, winter education and avalanche/safety programs and to raise awareness of winter management issues.

Submit by Sept 15

Watch Last Season’s Program

19th Annual Season Trailer

Watch Now

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Backcountry Film Festival 19th Annual Season Lineup

Melinda Quick — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 02:40:07 +0000

Winter Wildlands Alliance Presents: The 19th Annual Backcountry Film Festival

We believe in the power of humans and their spirit. Our mission is to manifest that power in communities and to inspire and activate through stories of activists, adventurers and the outdoors.

The Backcountry Film Festival is a year-round, community program presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance that celebrates human-powered, backcountry-inspired stories rooted in wild snowscapes, stewardship and stoke.

The 19th Annual Backcountry Film Festival will be screening a collage of short documentaries and ski movies about the pursuit of objectives and ideals in the mountains, artistic vision, friendship, and how the snowsports community is adapting to a changing environment. The total runtime for our 2023-24 season is 120 minutes (2 hours).

Tour Schedule

Host a Screening

Film Descriptions

What If?

6:00 minutes

Human-Powered Film Grant Award Winner (2023)

By Josh Goldsmith

A countdown into the mind of a backcountry skier as he contemplates the delicate balance between risk and reward; confidence and apprehension.

CON ARTIST

12:00 minutes

By MBG Motion Pictures

Three female freeskiers find themselves on a transcendental journey, crossing the lines of reality and the subconscious mind in a heist for self-identity.

Beloved Whitebark: Stalwart Witness

6:33 minutes

By Creative Ascents Films

Having worked to protect whitebark pine in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for the last 23 years, Nancy Bockino invites you to get to know this charismatic tree in the alpine. Learn about why whitebark is important and its present perilous situation. Nurture your own connection to the alpine and its inhabitants.

109 Below

13:42 minutes

By Stept Studios

A tale of resilience, grit and elite rescue volunteers going out of their way to save the lives of strangers, 109 BELOW traces how an attempted rescue on Mount Washington in 1982 changed not only the course of two climbers’ lives – but also the lives of the rescuers who attempted to save them, and the future of prosthetics, forever.

Beyond Begbie

13:36 minutes

By Zoya Lynch

Climbing Mt Begbie is a “right of passage” for every hiker, climber, sledder, and skier who chooses to make Revelstoke their home. While this peak has created an entire contemporary culture in Revelstoke, its name and story only represent colonial history, with no reference to the Indigenous heritage of this land. Is it the outdoor community’s responsibility to help change this?

Have An Adventure

20:00 minutes

By Colby Elliot

A human powered think piece that follows a collection of skiers as they explore familiar terrain in search of new adventure around Utah’s famous backcountry. Join John as he follows in his father’s tracks to turn new corners and explore the canyon he grew up in. Along the way John explores his father’s skiing philosophies while considering ways to nurture the rapidly changing culture of a growing ski community.

Bloom

14:20 minutes

By Kyle Hilken

Sierra Schlag navigates the world after losing her father on 9/11, exploring her grief and identity as a Japanese-American while also finding herself under the cloak of depression. While she navigates these complexities, Sierra finds a way to connect with her dad and heal through skiing.

burn. // A Ski Film

11:22 minutes

By Kellen MacDonald

The story of how forest fires are impacting large swaths of terrain in the western United States and Canada. In the wake of the fires, certain areas are transformed into beautiful playgrounds for skiers and snowboarders.

Racha

10:00 minutes

By Andy Hardy

Through stunning cinematography and powerful storytelling, this film takes you on a journey of discovery, where the love of skiing leads to an unexpected education, and a story that demands to be told.

The Redline Traverse (Short)

6:33 minutes

By Steve Seime

Jenna Kane and Greg Cunningham take on the Redline Traverse, the tallest and longest ski tour in the Sierra Nevada. They pay tribute to the pioneers of the route, the spirit of the tour and, of course, ski.

Tour Schedule

Host a Screening

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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The post Backcountry Film Festival 19th Annual Season Lineup appeared first on Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Submit Your Film to Backcountry Film Festival!

Sean McDonald — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 05:38:33 +0000

BCFF Needs Your Snow Stories

Share your wild winter stories with us by October 1 to be considered for the 19th annual season tour!

Photo by Joey Schusler (@joeyschusler)

What is BCFF?

Every winter, BCFF tours 100+ cities to raise funds for local hosts and bring backcountry communities together. Both in-person events and virtual screenings will be hosted.

What kind of stories are we looking for?

Here’s last season’s line-up for inspiration and alignment.

Submission Specs

We also require a transcription or SubRip (.srt) file so we can do our best to use closed captioning in this season’s program.

Read more and submit at our FilmFreeway profile by October 1, 2023.

How does the Festival tour work?

Our Festival is hosted by local retailers, grassroots group, outdoor affinity groups, and many more community organizations.

Hosts are welcome to have an in-person screening based on their county’s event guidelines re. COVID19 and/or a virtual screening.

Submit by October 1

Watch Last Season’s Program

18th Annual Season Trailer

Watch Now

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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The post Submit Your Film to Backcountry Film Festival! appeared first on Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Submit Your Film to Backcountry Film Festival!

Melinda Quick — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 23:05:01 +0000

BCFF Needs Your Snow Stories

Share your wild winter stories with us by September 15 to be considered for the 20th annual season tour!

Photo by Joey Schusler (@joeyschusler)

What is BCFF?

Every winter, BCFF tours 100+ cities to raise funds for local hosts and bring backcountry communities together. Both in-person events and virtual screenings will be hosted.

What kind of stories are we looking for?

Here’s last season’s line-up for inspiration and alignment.

Submission Specs

We also require a transcription or SubRip (.srt) file so we can do our best to use closed captioning in this season’s program.

Read more and submit at our FilmFreeway profile by September 15, 2024.

How does the Festival tour work?

Our Festival is hosted by local retailers, grassroots group, outdoor affinity groups, and many more community organizations.

Hosts are welcome to have an in-person screening based on their county’s event guidelines re. COVID19 and/or a virtual screening.

Submit by September 15

Watch Last Season’s Program

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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The post Submit Your Film to Backcountry Film Festival! appeared first on Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Backcountry Film Festival 18th Annual Season Lineup

Melinda Quick — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 02:15:50 +0000

Winter Wildlands Alliance Presents: The 18th Annual Backcountry Film Festival

We believe in the power of humans and their spirit. Our mission is to manifest that power in communities and to inspire and activate through stories of activists, adventurers and the outdoors.

The 18th Annual Backcountry Film Festival will be screening a collage of short documentaries and ski movies about the pursuit of objectives and ideals in the mountains, artistic vision, friendship, and how the snowsports community is adapting to a changing environment. The total runtime for our 2022-23 season is 1 hour and 52 minutes.

Tour Schedule

Host a Screening

Film Descriptions

Soñadora

7:09 minutes

Human-Powered Film Grant Award Winner (2022)

By Jr Rodriguez, Sofia Jaramillo, Micheli Oliver, and Luke Kaneb

Vanessa is quite literally a trailblazer and with vulnerable storytelling, she is making space for those after her in the outdoor industry. In doing so she is often in predominantly white spaces and thus has had to find ways to stay connected to herself and her culture. This film explores Vanessa’s journey and anyone else who lives between worlds.

Mapping Snow

6:01 minutes

By Aaron Kalischer-Coggins and The Hill

“Mapping Snow” explores how scientists are trying to better understand snow around the world, to save lives and mitigate the impacts of climate change on our most precious resource. Featuring WWA Ambassador, HP Marshall, this film shows how HP conducts this research in Idaho to connect with NASA and other snow scientists around the world.

Ski Local

9:57 minutes

By Skyler Martin

Ski Local explores the past and present culture of skiing on the Palouse.

TENSION

2:31 minutes

By WNDR Alpine

An immersive deep pow experience.

First Time Adventure

2:59 minutes

By The Mad Trees

Produced by Subaru and REI

WWA Ambassador Vasu Sojitra takes fellow athlete Kira Brazinski backcountry skiing for the first time. A short and sweet film about the joy of getting outside together, sharing in our experiences and how we connect to our bodies in the outdoors.

HUT VIBES

6:35 minutes

By Noah Howell

Produced by Flylow Gear and SHELTER

A group of friends head into the Eastern Sierras to share in the well-known and historic backcountry hut experience. A quick look at the magic of huts in the winter and what they provide.

The Avalanche Hunter

11:27 minutes

By Wool Hat Creative

In this adventure vignette, we get a look behind the scenes into the often invisible world of avalanche control and avalanche professionals. The story follows Roz Reynolds, an “avalanche hunter” and certified badass, who is not only blazing trails in her field and keeping the public safe in the mountains, but also laying first tracks on backcountry slopes, climbing ice walls, and more.

The Bottom Line

7:20 minutes

By Northwest Avalanche Center

This short film produced by the Northwest Avalanche Center dives into a typical day for NWAC forecasters out in the field along with their routine once back in the office to get the forecast out to the public.

Tools of Ascension

12:02 minutes

By Chris Murphy and Max Lowe

Produced by YETI

Conrad Anker knows the value of suffering through the climb — letting difficult experiences build. Learn more about his ascension with new climber Malik Martin.

Ski Together

8:54 minutes

By Greg O’Connor

Zach McCarthy moved back to Maine from Boston and found purpose in sharing his love of ski touring with others.

Stepping Out: An Alaskan Expedition

15:12 minutes

By Top Top Studio

Three women set out to ski in the Alaska range for their first time. Serving as their own guides they were excited to arrive on the glacier and were quickly humbled by the complex structure of the terrain. In a new setting, they reimagine what success looks like beyond the familiar expectations of adventure athletes. The mission? Thrive in new roles and progress as a team to test their limits as skiers and leaders. No trip is perfect but the most memorable ones evolve beyond sport.

Next Stop Sneg

11:30 minutes

By Marco Tribelhorn

After receiving a suspicious message on his computer screen, Sven Rauber goes on a hallucinating ski trip into a pillow filled forest in the middle of nowhere. He finds him self in a camp alongside a beautiful river between some hills wich hold some of the best snow and skiing terrain in the world. A movie for ski and snowboard fanatics with an affectation for deep powder tree skiing.

Tour Schedule

Host a Screening

Upcoming Screenings

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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The post Backcountry Film Festival 18th Annual Season Lineup appeared first on Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Submit Your Film to Backcountry Film Festival!

Melinda Quick — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 20:35:57 +0000

BCFF Needs Your Snow Stories

Share your wild winter stories with us by October 1 to be considered for the 2022-23 tour!

Photo by Jason Hummel (@jasonhummel)

What is BCFF?

Every winter, BCFF tours 100+ cities to raise funds for local hosts and bring backcountry communities together. Both in-person events and virtual screenings will be hosted.

What kind of stories are we looking for?

Here’s last season’s line-up for inspiration and alignment.

Submission Specs

We would also prefer a transcription or SubRip (.srt) file so we can do our best to use closed captioning in this season’s program.

Read more and submit at our FilmFreeway profile by October 1, 2022.

How does the Festival tour work?

Our Festival is hosted by local retailers, grassroots group, outdoor affinity groups, and many more community organizations.

Hosts are welcome to have an in-person screening based on their county’s event guidelines re. COVID19 and/or a virtual screening.

Submit by Oct 1

Watch Last Season’s Program

2021-22 Trailer

Watch Now

The post Submit Your Film to Backcountry Film Festival! appeared first on Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Backcountry Film Festival Announces First Ever Internship Opportunity

Melinda Quick — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 23:05:30 +0000

Backcountry Film Festival Internship Opportunity

We are seeking an intern to join our film festival production crew this season! This is an amazing opportunity to get introduced to the outdoor recreation and film industries and have fun while doing it.

Photo by Josh Metten (@joshmettenphoto)

APPLY NOW

Produced by Winter Wildlands Alliance (WWA), the annual Backcountry Film Festival (BCFF) is a film program that tours nationally to celebrate the connection between humans and wild winters. BCFF premieres every October in WWA’s hometown of Boise, Idaho, and then tours across the country all winter to raise funds and awareness for our local hosts (avy centers, grassroots groups and alliances, educational centers, university clubs, retail shops, etc.). In a typical season, the tour reaches 40,000 attendees across 100 in-person screenings. In the past two years, we have added virtual screenings that have reached over 4,000 households.

Our new intern will get to share their creative skills to better our film program, national tour, and marketing campaigns for this season’s Festival.

THE DETAILS

WWA is the national non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering people to protect America’s wild snowscapes. BCFF celebrates all that we and our partners do in snowy cinematic form across the snow belt, from high adventure and rad lines to environmental stewardship and inclusion.

We are seeking a person to provide support to our Festival Director, specifically with our annual tour set-up and communications, film submission review process, media and marketing development, some light admin and merchandise fulfillment work, and event logistics for our premiere and other screenings nationwide.

The position is based in Boise, Idaho, and will begin July 18 and end September 16, with the option to extend and attend the 2022-23 season premiere in October. Weekly schedule is flexible based on candidate’s availability and we ask for a minimum commitment of 10 hours per week. We are seeking an in-person intern but remote / hybrid work will be considered.

At the moment, this position is volunteer-based and unpaid but provides the right candidate an opportunity to learn and develop applicable workplace skills, to expand professional knowledge, to help us towards our national mission, and to gain contacts and experience in the outdoor industry and media spheres. However, we recognize unpaid internships are not ideal and are actively working to get this position compensated.

Other benefits include: an outdoor pro account to get discounted gear from our partners and networking opportunities set up by your direct supervisor based on your specific interests in the industry.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND JUSTICE

WWA is dedicated to growing in and listening to on-going DEIJ conversations. Throughout our work, our staff and board navigate how to make wild winters more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just. We appreciate a candidate who is willing to do the same and views this process as an on-going personal and professional growth opportunity. We are more than happy to provide both structured learning and conversational opportunities for this growth throughout the Internship.

QUALIFICATIONS

We are seeking an in-person candidate but remote work or hybrid will be considered in the right situation. We would love to find a candidate interested and with the availability to stay on through the 2022 Festival premiere at the end of October in Boise, ID.

The ideal intern will be excited about outdoor film and have a general knowledge of the film festival experience and/or events. If you’ve been to a Backcountry Film Festival screening before, even better!

We appreciate a background and/or demonstrable interest in any of the following: filmmaking, outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, event planning, marketing and communications, and storytelling.

The following is a list of skills that we would love to see in applicants but also intend to further develop and strengthen throughout the Internship:

Detail-oriented and an effective communicator
Ability to adapt in role-related situations in a professional manner
Client / sponsor relations and customer service
Positive personality and general interest in outdoor recreation
Willing to learn and/or knowledgeable in any of the following: Dropbox, Excel, Zoom, Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro, Canva, and Google Suite (Email, Drive, and Meet)
Experience with FilmFreeway (our film submission program)
Experience with WordPress (our website management system)
Filmmaking experience of any kind (producer, editor, videographer, photographer, etc.)

HOW TO APPLY: APPLICATION & RESUME

Please submit your application by midnight on Friday, July 8 here. Once you submit your application, you will receive an email confirmation that you can reply to with your resume attached or you can send to us via email with the subject “BCFF Internship Resume for APPLICANT NAME” at info@backcountryfilmfestival.org.

If you are a student seeking course credit, you are required to provide proof of your school’s internship requirements with your application.

Please submit any questions to info@backcountryfilmfestival.org.

Learn More & Apply by July 8

Winter Wildlands Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to inspire and empower people to protect America’s wild snowscapes.

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Backcountry Film Festival 17th Annual Season Lineup

Melinda Quick — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 01:20:04 +0000

Winter Wildlands Alliance Presents: The 17th Annual Backcountry Film Festival

We believe in the power of humans and their spirit. Our mission is to manifest that power in communities through stories of activists, adventurers, and the outdoors to inspire and activate.

The Backcountry Film Festival is a year-round, community program presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance that brings messages relevant to WWA’s mission and on-going stewardship, policy and advocacy initiatives throughout every season. A collage of human-powered stories and backcountry-inspired experiences, BCFF brings wild conversations and inspires action to communities that celebrate the present while looking towards the future.

The 17th Annual Backcountry Film Festival will be 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.

Tour Schedule

Embrace the Brr

Host a Screening

Film Descriptions

ASCEND: Reframing Disability in the Outdoors

By Faith E. Briggs and TopTop Studio

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.

Finding Gulo: The Movement to Save the Wolverine

By The Wilder Studio & Wild Confluence

“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.

PERSPECTIVE – Fred Campbell

By Sherpas Cinema

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.

A Tribute to a Glacier

By Thaïs Despont

A musical immersion in the wonderful landscapes of the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, seen through an indigenous lens.

Alone Beneath the Northern Lights

By Valentin Boitel-Denyset

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…

Denizens of the Steep

By Orijin Media

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.

Eastside Story

By Mountain Grown Media

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.

Finding Balance

By Santino Martirano

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.

Lot’zza Mia

By Mad Trees

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.

REVERIE

By Eclectic Brew Productions

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.

Snow Rangers

By Wool Hat Creative

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.

Off-Piste Opus

By Luke Nelson

A raw edit of the sounds of the backcountry.

The Approach

By Mad Trees

An action-driven ski and snowboard film elevating people of color, women and adaptive athletes.

Wild Ice

By Bear Witness Media

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.

Tour Schedule

Embrace the Brr

Host a Screening

The post Backcountry Film Festival 17th Annual Season Lineup appeared first on Winter Wildlands Alliance.

Embrace the Brr: 2021-22 Backcountry Film Festival

Sean McDonald — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 18:29:38 +0000

Embrace the Brr

The 17th annual season of the Backcountry Film Festival is coming to the outdoors near you!

Poster design by Endurance Conspiracy

Presented by Winter Wildlands Alliance, BCFF is a chance for us to connect with our best backcountry buddies and celebrate everything we advocate for and adventure on every winter. Read more about how to partner with us here.

2021-22 Season: Embrace the Brr!

This season, we want everyone to “embrace the brr,” which means embracing everything we love about winter: playing in the snow, outdoor adventure, and great stories that come from long days spent in the skin track and in the backcountry.

Think snow screens, bundled up snuggles with your favorite mountain goats next to a warm fire, hot chocolate (spiked or not), and aprés tailgate screenings across the snow belt all season long.

All WWA-hosted screenings will be offered outside as well as virtually. Hosts will strongly be encourage to screen any in-person viewings outside and virtually.

We are excited that we are still able to give back and bring everyone together over great films and good times.

Line-Up + Programs

The film line-up for the 17th annual season will be announced by Oct 15, 2021.

In the meantime, stream the last two seasons and our Best of Fest program here.

We also plan on releasing the 2nd annual Ski Kind Film Festival in March 2022 and first annual Night of Stoke summer program in June 2022. Stay tuned for more details early next year.

Easiest way to stay in the loop? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Find a Screening Near You

Our national events are hosted by grassroots groups, nonprofits, and other organizations to benefit their local community. We highly encourage you to purchase tickets for your local screening(s) and/or tickets to an event benefitting a host who you would like to support as funds raised go directly back into their work for their backcountry backyard. It’s vital you “show” up from the comfort of your own home for the hosts and places that are near and dear to your heart.

Visit our tour map to see if there’s currently a screening scheduled near you! If not, reach out to us to see if there’s one in the works or if we can make one happen: info@winterwildlands.org.

Who Makes This Possible

For the past seventeen years, the crew at Winter Wildlands Alliance has made the Backcountry Film Festival happen as a gathering space and resource for our backcountry community.

A team of six, we put our heart and soul into everything we do: from policy and advocacy action, to getting kids out in the snow at SnowSchool, to putting together a dynamic Festival program to tour through our favorite mountains all winter long.

Our 30+ grassroots groups, 80+ SnowSchool sites, and hundreds of other partners screen the Festival to celebrate the policy and advocacy work we do year-round. These hosts are the ones who have helped us build such an incredible experience for winter adventurers around the country. If you’d like to learn more about our national work and how the Festival impacts mountain communities across the snowbelt, check out WWA here.

And lastly, our sponsors and partners continue to be the fuel that stokes the fireplace after a long day of playing in the snow. Thank you to our long-term supporters at:

We hope to see you in the snow soon!

2020-21 BCFF Season Report

The post Embrace the Brr: 2021-22 Backcountry Film Festival appeared first on Winter Wildlands Alliance.