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 2023-24 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 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.

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.

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