Screenshot: Ecoxtreme
Miss out on that historic El Niño that has been dumping down on the Southern Hemisphere the past month or so? First and foremost, that SUCKS, and you should probably buy a plane ticket asap. But second (and less depressing), don’t you worry about the past month or so — the Flux Veho Mountain Film Festival is here to give you a glimpse of what all you missed.
What is Flux Veho? Basically, it is a celebration of the local culture there in the Andes, specifically around Farellones. The brainchild of Rafael Pease, a 21-year-old Chilean, “Flux Veho is an organization dedicated to preserving our natural environment… It is a means of establishing a common direction and motive to actually make a move and protect our vulnerable planet through films.”
A student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Pease is a triple major, pursuing majors in Environmental Studies, Geography, and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. And it is in Colorado that he got his inspiration for the film festival.
“I am an avid backcountry pow-rider, snowmobiler and mountaineer,” Pease writes. “I have an immense passion for adventure and I find cultural dynamics extremely intriguing. I am always looking for new, deeper and steeper terrain. The main reason I snowboard big mountain is because it is ALWAYS a new adventure. I love the adrenaline I experience throughout the entirety of each excursion. From the planning of the trip both geographically and mentally, to ascending, dropping, flying, and falling, I love every moment of it. Especially when I can share such heartfelt experiences with my homies and family.”
“The reason I created the Flux Veho Mountain Film Festival was to unite the mountain community and give everyone an opportunity to create and share a video. For me its all about getting together and having fun with people who have the same passion as myself for this type of life style and make positive connections with everyone to protect our the environment.”
So how did the film festival itself go? Rather well, given that it coincided with nearly a half a dozen fresh feet of snow. Basically each team of skiers and/or snowboarders (of which there were 23) were mandated to make a two-minute film. Sounds easy enough, right? Therein lies the kicker: the two-minute films needed to be shot and produced in ONE WEEK; and the films themselves needed to focus on “environmental protection, weather patterns, backcountry safety, snowboard/mountaineer documentaries, view the world through a native point of view, or quantified human impact on the environment.”
Anyway, here are the top six films that the 23 teams came back with.
Ecoxtreme – 1st Place!
The Brotherhood – 2nd Place!
BC Argentina Represent – 3rd Place!
Kangalha – Adventure Award
Oh! Farellones! – Local Award
Powder Line – Backcountry Award
Makes you crave El Niño, doesn’t it? If so, then get excited as it looks like it is going to be a CODE RED situation this winter, unlike last year’s supremely disappointing showing.
To see the rest of the submissions, head on over to FluxVeho.com.
