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Skipress - TWSSF Special Edition 2008 - Index

SNOLIFE
And Now For Something
“A LITTLE DIFFERENT”
April 11 marks the world premiere of mountain-bike feature fi lm Seasons.
The fl ick focuses on seven of the world’s top mountain bikers: Darren Berrecloth, Matt Hunter,
Cam McCaul, Steve Peat, Andrew Shandro, Steve Smith and Thomas Vanderham. It traces their
rides through four seasons of one year, with footage from slopestyle competitions to World Cup
downhill races to epic backcountry freerides.
“The fi lm has been a ton of work for everyone involved,” says fi lmmaker Jamie Houssian of The
Collective. “So it’s nice to fi nally see it come together in the studio. It’s a new type of fi lm for the
action-sports genre. We’re stoked to show people something a little different.”
FoMoInfo: thecollectivefi lm.com
NO TICKETS REQUIRED
Over a decade ago, it was decreed that no action
should go unsoundtracked at TWSSF, a decree that
effectively turned the Fest into the biggest free
outdoor concert series in North America.
This year the noise continues, with reggae, rock,
hiphop and indie-funk pounding out their
summons at the Outdoor Concert stage at the
base of Whistler Mountain daily April 11–20.
Showtime: 3 p.m.
Big news this year is the presence of Michael
Franti and Spearhead, who will offer their special
brand of “thinking man’s hiphop” in Whistler,
their only West Coast gig south of Anchorage,
on Sunday April 20.
Franti’s newest album Yell Fire! offers his most
uplifting set of songs to date, inspired by a trip
Spearhead at last year’s fest.
12 THE TWSSF ISSUE 2008
Photo: Courtesy of TWSSF
to war-ravaged Iraq, Israel and the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. Explains Franti, “The thing
that I found when I was in war zones was that
nobody wants to hear songs about war. They
want to hear songs about connection to people,
and songs about love and life, songs that make
them dance.”
Says Festival Director Sue Eckersely, “Franti has
the perfect energy to wind up the Festival — it’s
guaranteed to go out on a high note.”
Also on the music tap: Rolling Stone cover-boy
and organic roots-rocker, the John Butler Trio,
and Canada’s own, The Trews, from… where
else? Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
No tickets required… not for none of it.
FoMoInfo: whistler2008.com
The Trews
Photo: The Collective
Photo: Universal Music Canada
Photo: David McColm/TWSSF
Last year’s Filmmaker
Showdown winners
THE FASTEST FILMMAKERS
IN THE WEST
The 72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown challenges
artists to shoot, edit and produce a three-tofi
ve-minute digital fi lm set within a 100 km
radius of Whistler in the space of 72 hours.
Says Lilli Clark, the event’s producer: “The
72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown provides
filmmakers with a focus that has resulted in
some incredible fi lms over the years. Whistler
from April 11 will be thrumming with more than
70 creative teams racing to beat the clock, and
the sense of exhilaration once they’ve accomplished
that at the Gala Screening is palpable.”
On April 15, more than 2000 people will
watch the 2008 72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown
fi nalists. The winner of the 2007 Best
in Show award will pick up $15,000 in prizes
including a $2,000 cash purse. The Gala
Screening will be followed for the fi rst time
by the Filmmakers Second Cuts screening, on
April 16, which will present all the films
submitted to the contest.
Also new this year: A March 12 Celluloid Social
Club Screening featuring a selection of the
72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown fi nalists. It’ll
take place at 8 p.m. at Vancouver’s ANZA
Club. Each fi lm will be followed by a short
interview with the filmmaker by the host,
followed by an audience Q&A. Entry is $5.
FoMoInfo: whistler.mtv.ca/arts_fi lmmaker.php
ROSSI’S SINS
Lust. Lust is good. Gluttony. Gluttony
rocks. Pride, greed, rage,
envy: worthy. Oh, and sloth. Sloth
is righteous, too. All seven sins are
celebrated in Rossignol’s limited
edition twintip series. The artists
of sin include Steve Caballero,
Will Barras and Squindo. Squindo
sounds like it just might be the
eighth sin.
— JULES OLDER