I openly admit my critical attitude towards most winter sports films. Not that their action isn't awesome, the scenery isn't beautiful and the films aren't produced extremely professionally? What bothers me about most powder films is the banality of the plot and the naivety of many of the protagonists, which borders on stupidity.
An all-round successful freeride film that is far more than just a ski film.
The result is a ski film with great powder and landscape shots, in which the main characters are not the skiers, but the country and its people. With great respect for the locals, they have their say, and this is exactly what makes the film so special. Although, of course, the beautiful powder shots don't go very well with the interview with a Kashmiri in which he tells how he was tortured by Indian soldiers. Nevertheless, Anthony's film manages this almost impossible balancing act. The ski film shows a lot about the country and its people without lecturing with a moralizing finger. And by not lecturing, the film explains a great deal: without a guilty conscience, without do-gooder sentimentality, AZADI is a convincing and loving homage to real powder skiing (no helicopters were used, as they are not allowed to fly for military reasons) - and to the region and, above all, its inhabitants.
"AZADI: Freedom" Official Trailer from b4apres media on Vimeo.
Rating: 5 out of 5 snowflakes.
If you want to see a special independent ski movie, please buy!
The film is now available in the Panico Alpinverlag online store.
For every CVD sold, Panico Alpinverlag donates €10 to the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders.
So, what are you waiting for: buy it, watch a good movie, and do something good...
Facts about the movie
Runtime: 27 minutes plus 15 minutes of bonus material
Featuring: Forrest Coots, Colin Puskas, Chad Sayers, Peter Velisek.
Also featuring:Billa Bakshi, Yakub Dunoo, Arif Khan, Showkat Ahmmad and others.
Subtitles: English, French, German, Russian
Extras: 15 minutes of bonus material.
Format: NTSC
The DVD costs 19.90 euros