Collection of outdoor movies coming to Tahoe City

The annual Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival is renowned for its collaboration with filmmakers from all corners of the globe, ranging from grassroots to professional.  The festival provides a fresh line-up of cutting-edge films.

Created in 2004 to highlight Winter Wildlands Alliance’s efforts to preserve and promote winter landscapes for human-powered users, the festival begins in Boise and includes showings in locations throughout the United States and Canada and now in Antarctica, Europe, Australia and Asia. Funds raised stay in local communities to support like-minded, human-powered recreation and conservation efforts and to raise awareness of winter management issues, avalanche training/safety and winter education programs.

For the Tahoe this is part of the Alpenglow Mountain Festival, a nine-day celebration of human-powered mountain sports. The screening benefits the Sierra Watershed Education Partnership, better known as SWEP. SWEP promotes environmental stewardship by connecting students to their community and local environment through comprehensive watershed education and service learning through the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District.

This year’s program includes:

·       Winner of Best of Festival: “Japan by Van”, immerses viewers in the head-deep powder of the Shirakawa backcountry. A Sweetgrass Productions film.

·       Winner of Best of Grassroots Award, “Shared Lines”: The story of the Vermont Backcountry Alliance and their community. A short film by T-Bar Films.

·       Winner of Best Environmental Message Award, from filmmaker Kt Miller, “Shifting Ice”: An all-women team on a journey at the intersection of scientific exploration and, of course, grueling fun.

·       “The Weight of Winter”: Filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski brings us a ride to tune into, sit back, and enjoy.

·       “I Love Splitboarding”: A fresh way to play in the backcountry along with a fresh way of living. A film by Right on Brother opens up the world of splitboarding.

·       “55 Hours in Mexico”: In tribute to true weekend warriors, Joey, Karl, Thomas, and filmmaker Max Lowe take viewers on an adventure of 55 Hours, home to Mexico and back.

·       “Always Above Us:” A glimpse of the tremendous amount of sacrifice and hardship involved in the life of a climber. Sherpas Cinema follows Kris Erickson and Conrad Anker in a memoir for David Bridges and Alex Lowe.

·       “Connections”: The Dynafit team shares the story of the simple “low tech” design that changed the face of backcountry skiing.

·       “The Forecaster”: Expert Avalanche Forecaster Drew Hardesty leads by example, paying respect to the responsibility that comes with our backcountry freedom. From Spindle Productions.

The $10 tickets are available online.

Doors open at 6:30pm and the show begins at 7pm on Feb. 23 at Tahoe City’s Tahoe Art Haus Cinema.