FreerideFilmFestival creates anticipation for the new season.

The PowderGuide team from Innsbruck was able to attend the event and enjoy the show, including the six outstanding freeride films, in the Metropol cinema. Afterwards, the head of the FreerideFilmFestival Harry Putz had time for an interview about the history, present and future of the film festival.

Timo:

Servus Harry,

first of all, it's super cool that it worked out so late and after such a long day (23:30 on 9.11, directly after the event in Innsbruck). Let's start right away with the first question.

How long have you been in the freeride film scene and how did you get started?

Harry:

I was born in Lech am Arlberg and was therefore socialized with winter sports. And I started snowboarding when I was at school around 1986. That was right after the first crazy people started doing it.

As a teenager in my school days, I went to all kinds of regional competitions that were available at the time and, in addition to studying for my A-levels, I qualified for the World Cup. Yes, and then I was a professional snowboarder for 10 years. At the same time as these first films came over, we started making our own. My father had a video camera that we were allowed to borrow. It was here that I realized that I not only enjoyed filming, but that I also had a talent for it.

But from my A-levels until 2001, I continued to be a snowboard pro. That was a very intense but mega cool time. I mean, I came out of school and was able to do what I wanted straight away and it worked out. At that time, being a snowboard pro meant organizing yourself completely, looking for sponsors and ultimately achieving good results in order to win prize money.

Timo:

And what happened after 2001?

Harry:

After saying goodbye to my time as a professional snowboarder, I decided to turn my attention to the world of filmmaking. During my active career, in which I won several national championship titles and gained years of experience among the top 10 in the world in boarder cross, I was lucky enough to get to know many people from this scene. With these contacts, I started to produce my own films.

Timo:

That definitely sounds like a big step forward. Now compared to the year before, the films were also much more international with locations in Canada, Norway, Japan and the Alps. What are your plans for the future? What other ideas do you have that you would like to realize in the future?

Harry:

This year, the number of submissions has almost doubled and we are definitely seeing a trend of more and more international films reaching us. That's super cool. Nevertheless, we are aware that we can't get any bigger with the Prime Tour, for example. Basically, we are happy about every request we receive. This year, for example, we were contacted in Milan, where we will also be making an attempt in the future.

We don't see the tour as a huge business model that should expand worldwide. Honesty is important to us. This means that the project, which is a matter of the heart for me and my partners, should of course be financially sound, but above all should remain true to the original idea.

Timo:

You've been around in the freeride film scene for a really long time now and have taken on many different perspectives and roles. What essential differences do you see between the films you shot 20 years ago and the films that are being shown in the current FFF tour?

Harry:

Of course, you have to address the technology, but that's not so important to me or us personally. The most important thing is simply the storytelling. In the scene, especially in the independent scene without big sponsors in the background, you can see that they really dare to tackle subtle or even direct topics. The frame story is now simply more important and the art lies in depicting these themes visually. The time when films were made to celebrate the action is over. Even in films like The Blondes, where there's a lot of shooting, it's all about the girls' personalities at the end. What drives them in sport but also in life besides freeriding. Helicopter pilot, wildland firefighter or even a student from Norway who had the dream of living in Canada.

Timo:

We saw a lot of films tonight that had a strong message. The movie Projection in particular left a strong impression with scenes from ski resorts that are already no longer financially viable due to the ever-moving snow line. How and where do you see freeriding in the future?

Harry:

It's a huge challenge that society is facing. And due to globalization, the whole thing is a global issue that only humanity can solve together. Above all, this requires global peace and agreement on the same goal. Things look very bleak at the moment. Nevertheless, we have to find a common denominator somehow, because everything is connected, such as food and supply chains. If we can't do this together, then the whole thing will spiral to the point where we destroy our livelihoods. But I'm not thinking about that! I think positively and that we can do it! As winter sports enthusiasts, we naturally also have a huge responsibility. But I think that because we enjoy it so much and it's so important to us, we can or are already partly acting as role models.