The Art of Recreation (2023)

Nanook of the North

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

March of the Penguins

Every year, thousands of Antarctica's emperor penguins make an astonishing journey to breed their young. They walk, marching day and night in single file 70 miles into the darkest, driest and coldest continent on Earth. This amazing, true-life tale is touched with humour and alive with thrills. Breathtaking photography captures the transcendent beauty and staggering drama of devoted parent penguins who, in the fierce polar winter, take turns guarding their egg and trekking to the ocean in search of food. Predators hunt them, storms lash them. But the safety of their adorable chicks makes it all worthwhile. So follow the leader... to adventure!!

Picture of Light

A documentary of an expedition to Churchill, Manitoba to film the Northern Lights.

Steep

Steep traces the legacy of extreme skiing from its early pioneers to the daredevils of today.

The Second Game

A deceptively simple set-up: the director and his father watch a 1988 football match which the father refereed, their commentary accompanying the original television images in real time. A Bucharest derby between the country’s leading teams, Dinamo and Steaua, taking place in heavy snow, one year before the revolution that toppled Ceaușescu.

The Hypocrite

"The Hypocrite" delves into a critical discourse that is resonating with individuals across various spheres. In the context of climate advocacy, the film examines the inherent contradiction between personal actions and systemic efforts. The story is masterfully woven through the perspective of a professional skier, confronting the complex interplay between advocating for change and relying on fossil fuels for athletic pursuits. The film aspires to foster unity and collaboration within the outdoor community, transcending perceived hypocrisy and feelings of not fitting in. It aims to dismantle the culture of individual blame and guilt, focusing instead on the systemic shifts required to pave the way for a sustainable future. By erasing the boundaries that label individuals as hypocrites, the narrative invites viewers to recognize the urgent need for collective action and change.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

In the center of the story is the life of the indigenous people of the village Bakhtia at the river Yenisei in the Siberian Taiga. The camera follows the protagonists in the village over a period of a year. The natives, whose daily routines have barely changed over the last centuries, keep living their lives according to their own cultural traditions.

Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season

Universally recognized as the greatest female skier ever, Lindsey Vonn went on a remarkable journey that was defined by unexpected twists and turns and dramatic peaks and valleys in its final chapter. LINDSEY VONN: THE FINAL SEASON intimately recounts the iconic skier’s last competitive campaign while looking back on her transcendent career, from child prodigy to decorated Olympian to global superstar.

Full Circle

Faced with a traumatic injury that renders you permanently disabled; how would you reinvent yourself? Full Circle tells the story of Trevor Kennison and Barry Corbet’s shared resiliency and refusal to let their passion for life be limited by Spinal Cord Injury. It is an unblinking examination of the challenges of Spinal Cord Injury, and a celebration of the growth that such tragedy can catalyze.

Streif: One Hell of a Ride

While the ski racers leave Kitzbühel for the next World Cup location, the members of the Kitzbüheler Ski Club (KSC) are already starting preparations for next year’s race. “Streif – One Hell of a Ride” documents this work – both the spectacular and the small tasks – over the course of one year. At the same time, the film follows five athletes – Aksel Lund Svindal, Max Franz, Hannes Reichelt, Erik Guay and Yuri Danilochkin – in their respective native countries, during their summer training and in their free time. As the 2014 Hahnenkamm Race approaches, these two narratives become more and more interwoven, interspersed with stories from the event’s past – until the athletes arrive back in Kitzbühel.

Sierra Quitiquit: How Did I Get Here

From humble beginnings, complex family dynamics and tragic, life-changing events, to her unlikely rise to success in two very different worlds: fashion modeling and professional skiing. “How Did I Get Here” is a coming-of-age story, full of adventure, exploration, heartbreak, growth and inspiration.

After the Blizzard

North Wales feels the chill in this picture-perfect glimpse of the calm after a winter storm.

Drei Frauen

Plot unavailable

The Shelter

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

Habit

There are as many paths as there are people. Some choose to be carpet salesman, others choose to be skiers. These behaviors are part of life's routine, and consciously or not, we're all slaves to it somehow. But you can't have the result without the process- you must get up to go down. Let this be your field guide to the minutia, the frivolities and of course the addiction to pure, uncut, freedom. Go ahead, scratch that itch. Because after all, we are creatures of HABIT.

Falling into Place: Kai Jones

Skier Kai Jones shattered both his legs in a fall from a cliff. The teenager experiences a brutal rescue operation, a difficult operation and life-threatening anemia. The movie shows Kai Jones' fight for survival. It is a story about adversity and how it strengthens one's own resilience.

White Winter

In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

Snowball Fight

Wintertime in Lyon. About a dozen people, men and women, are having a snowball fight in the middle of a tree-lined street. The cyclist coming along the road becomes the target of opportunity. He falls off his bicycle. He's not hurt, but he rides back the way he came, as the fight continues.

Snowfall

As a winter storm approaches the shallow water crystallizes, ice builds up along the edges of a stream, and the first snowflakes of the storm layer over the newly formed ice. The following morning a soft light approaches through the snow covered forest.

Snow Warrior

Snow Warrior is a love letter to the splendour of winter. It captures the beauty of a northern city through the eyes of a bicycle courier named Mariah.

Mountain in Shadow

A poetic view into the relationship of immensity between man and landscape. We contemplate, from the distance, the activity of the skiers on the snowy mountain. The pictorial image and the dark and dreamlike atmosphere transforms the space into something unreal, imprecise, converting it also in a spectral presence.

Snow

Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-minute montage cut to music. Tough-as-boots workers struggling to keep the line clear are counterpointed with passengers' buffet-car comforts.

Manaslu: Mountain of Souls

The great successes and tragedies in the life and work of Hans Kammerlander, the renowned mountaineer.

Picabo

Chronicles the life of Picabo Street, the alpine skiing icon of the 1990s, from her unorthodox childhood in Idaho to her Olympic successes, dramatic recoveries from ill-timed injuries and her arrest in 2015 due to false abuse allegations.

Skidmakaren i Gielas

Documentary about the making of a pair of skis using old methods, from the scouting for the perfect tree to finished product.

Warren Miller: Ticket to Ride

A ticket can get you anywhere in the world, from the chairlift at your local ski area to the top of Talgar Peak in Kazakhstan. It can put your heart in your throat as you fly over a knoll faster than you have all year, and it can put your mind at ease when you find yourself alone in a snow-covered Aspen grove with clear blue sky above and crisp cold air all around. A ticket is the end of reality and the beginning of a journey. And we've got one for you.

Fire On The Mountain

From the mind of Chris Benchetler comes TGR's latest short film collaboration. Improvisation is the silver thread that weaves this crew together. Just as the Grateful Dead did not fit their music into an established category, this short film finds a cast of some of the world’s best athletes on a spontaneous journey of skiing, snowboarding, surfing, and music, complete with a soundtrack comprised of only Grateful Dead music.

Snows of Grenoble

Film about the 10th Olympic Games in Grenoble in 1968. Using a subjective camera, Ertaud and Languepin take the pulse of the Games, cutting out the eyes and slowing down the movement when necessary. The dominant figure at the Grenoble Winter Games is Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy, whose three gold medals matched Toni Sailer's 1956 feat. The filmmakers bet on his winning streak, and include commentary from him as he prepares for each race. Another athlete, Marielle Goitschel, is treated insightfully on screen and wins the women's slalom. Ice dancing fans will appreciate the coverage of winner Oleg Protopopov and his partner Ludmila Belousova. President Charles De Gaulle was present for the spectacular Opening Ceremony.

Snow Animals

Liz Bonnin introduces a cast of charismatic animals to reveal the remarkable strategies they use to survive, and even thrive, through the winter.

Magma 3

Winner of 2023 IF3 "Best Urban Segment" starring Alex Hall and Hunter Hess. The third installment of the Magma Trilogy.

Petit Suisse

Plot unavailable

Midwinter Hue

A man steadily bashes through the snow. He disappears and the trees, covered in white, shift and show a beautiful array of hidden colors. A poetic, meditative short film about letting go of the past and embracing the unknown future.

SKI

Nikolai and Vegard were childhood friends who spent their free time on the ski slopes. Now, Nikolai has become a professional skier, while Vegard lives in caves and trains obsessively to complete a perilous and physically demanding ski tour. This is a story about friendship and setting ambitious goals.

The Silent Enemy

In the Canadian Northwest, the Chippewa tribe struggles to find food before the onset of winter.

Under an Arctic Sky

Six fearless surfers travel to the north coast of Iceland to ride waves unlike anything they've ever experienced, captured with high-tech cameras.

Snow Guardians

A beautifully filmed documentary about the life and work of Ski Patrol at several Montana Ski Resorts and the Search and Rescue teams that respond to winter emergencies in the backcountry.

Magic in the Mountains

Magic in the Mountains tells the remarkable underdog story of how Squaw Valley, a little-known ski area in California, won the bid for the 1960 Winter Olympics and, with the help of Walt Disney, changed forever the ways in which the Games were presented. The documentary features never-before-seen archival footage from the 1960 Olympic Games and revealing interviews with participating athletes and attendees. The 1960 edition of the Olympics introduced a substantial array of “firsts,” including such innovations as live broadcast, instant replay, sponsorships, and an official Olympic Village for the athletes. Perhaps most importantly, thanks to Disney’s involvement in producing the Games, Squaw Valley featured an unprecedented — but soon to be standard — level of pageantry for the opening and closing ceremonies.

Life In The Snow

In a seasonal special, Gordon Buchanan meets the animals who live in nature's winter wonderlands. He reveals their survival secrets, from the polar bear mother who gives her cubs the best possible start in life to the owl that finds food hidden beneath a blanket of snow, plus the plucky penguins that huddle together to keep warm. Gordon also unwraps the lives of our favourite Christmas characters - those wonderful reindeer and our very own robin redbreast!

The three steps

Pedro lives in Cofete, an isolated beach of Fuerteventura. He abandoned his lifestyle to find out the obscure history of his family’s old house. “The three steps” tells a story of a man who decides not to give up and struggle against the elements.

Exploring The Snow - The Final Volume

Plot unavailable

Abandoned

A crew of backcountry skiers set out to explore Colorado’s lost ski areas in hopes to find adventure amongst the ruins. Instead, they discover the truth behind what made these areas close their doors for good and illustrates what skiing used to be like before mega resorts and climate change wreaked havoc on independently owned ski areas. Through heart-wrenching interviews with former owners, ski patrol, and historians, The Road West Traveled uncovers what it’s like to be a skier in Colorado's backcountry and what it means to go from lost to found.

Your Humble Servant

Film follows Haide and Toomas, husband and wife in life and in art Piip and Tuut through the hard work of the creation of their new clown show in the Botanical Garden of Tallinn, showing the intensity and poetry behind their craft and focusing on their collaboration on stage and in life.

Peak Obsession

Cody Townsend has set out on an audacious goal to climb and ski all 50 lines chronicled in the book, "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America". Peak Obsession is a stand alone film premiered at film festivals around the world and dives into the depths of the mindset behind the project told through the story of two of the more challenging lines in the book, Meteorite Mountain and Pontoon Peak near Valdez, Alaska. Joined by legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones, along with cameraman Bjarne Salen, they set out on an adventure rife with challenge, exhaustion and a bevy of lessons to learn along the adventure. This is Episode 19 and line 17 and 18 completed for The FIFTY, a project following Cody Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, "The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America."

Fullsterkur

FULLSTERKUR is the third documentary in a collection of films produced by Rogue Fitness, exploring strength culture around the world, connected specifically by the ancient tradition of stone lifting. Nestled at the doorstep of the Arctic Circle, the country of Iceland is uniquely acquainted with the relationship between strength and survival. For hundreds of years, men and women were challenged to overcome harsh weather and endless winter nights by developing their own distinct physical and mental fortitude—passed down from the age of the Vikings, and iconically represented by the lifting of heavy stones. Today, on an island with a population of just over 300,000, a disproportionate number of the world’s greatest strength athletes still call Iceland home.

Behind the Skis

Witness never-before-seen footage of the Warren Miller film crew and athletes as they take on the world's most exotic mountains, treacherous terrain and red-hot ski resorts. Listen as they share their untold stories acres-ski. The only way to get closer to the action is to be on skis.

Purple Mountains

Professional snowboarder and mountaineer Jeremy Jones has an intimate relationship with the outdoors. It’s his escape, his identity, and his legacy. But over the course of his 45 years in the mountains, he’s seen many things change: more extreme weather, fewer snow days, and economic strain on mountain towns. Motivated by an urge to protect the places he loves, Jeremy sets out on a physical and philosophical journey to find common ground with fellow outdoor people across diverse political backgrounds. He learns their hopes and fears while walking a mile in their shoes on the mountain and in the snow. With intimacy and emotion set against breathtaking backdrops, Purple Mountains navigates America’s divide with a refreshing perspective: even though we may disagree about climate policy, our shared values can unite us