Directing
Ghost Resorts is about absence, in places where skiers once frolicked freely. Those moments of joyful laughter on the slopes have been replaced by a mysterious sense of emptiness. But the skiing remains, still. “the Ghost Resorts series is an exploration of the ski culture, of an heritage, a golden age, those places where there was life, that have closed, but where skiing still remains”
Into these most inhospitable of lands, a handful of drifters emerge from the whiteout, ready to cast their lot on forsaken peaks both merciless and magnificent. Venturing beyond the frontiers of most mountain films, Solitaire is backcountry skiing forged in the tradition of Western cinema. Born in the spires of Argentina’s legendary Las Lenas, a lonely two-year journey begins through an abandoned world, wandering the length of a continent from Peru’s Cordillera Blanca to Chilean Patagonia. Lost in the winds of snowbound badlands and the blizzards of primordial forests; seen from a horse’s saddle and a paraglider’s wings; ridden on ski and board and telemark...Solitaire fuses western-inspired tales of backcountry gambles into landscapes never before visited on film.
High in the San Juan Mountains above Silverton, Colorado, a pack of runners roam. Together they traverse mountain meadows and navigate mineral-stained peaks through the rugged landscape of their backyard. The Braford-Lefebvre family chose to live here in order to raise their family wild. Through hard times and the best ones, running is their tool for experiencing life together.
A gripping, hour-long documentary film by Sweetgrass Productions that tells a true story of the decades-long battle over the future of British Columbia’s iconic Jumbo Valley—highlighting the tension between protection of the backcountry experience and ever-increasing development interests in the wilderness. A large-scale proposed ski resort threatens the rich wilderness of British Columbia’s Purcell Range—a revered backcountry ski and snowboarding destination with world-class terrain, sacred ground for local First Nations people, and part of one of North America’s most important grizzly bear corridors. Set against a backdrop of incredible backcountry ski and snowboard footage, Jumbo Wild documents all sides of a divisive issue bringing the passionate local fight to protect the Jumbo Valley to life for the first time.
Riding powder is a useless pursuit—yet people across the globe devote their lives to earning their turns. The Meaningless Pursuit of Snow follows five such characters, united by their search for the same essentials: a connection to nature, the joy of the struggle and a backcountry community they call home.​
The weightlessness of youth: every breath radiates opportunity and hope; every sense thrives on the wealth of the present; every thing whispers of brilliance and awe. When you've seen the season’s first great snow through the eyes of a child—you've known true happiness. But what happened to that simple joy? Where do we find the freedom that time and wisdom stole away? Valhalla, Sweetgrass Productions’ fourth feature film, is the tale of one man’s search to rediscover the freedom of his youth. Feeling the distant heat of it’s fire still burning in the mountains of the frozen north, he goes in search of those tending the flame—the untamed, the wild, and the outcast dwelling on the fringe. Weaving narrative-driven style with award-winning, face-melting backcountry ski and snowboard cinematography; Valhalla is a vivid explosion of color, character, snow, and nostalgic soul.
From the depth of the creative visuals to the groundbreaking, never-been-done-before scale of the shoot, Afterglow is being hailed as one of the most cinematically profound ski movies ever made. Deep pillows and Alaskan spines, all filmed at night, with massive lights, custom made LED suits, and a national governments worth of logistics, planning, and civil engineering. Filmed as a partnership between Sweetgrass Productions, Philips TV, and the Swedish Agency Ahlstrand & WĂĄllgren, it's two parts creativity, one part branded content, and a pinch of masochism for good measure. Overall, it's an incredibly unique partnership between our vision of skiing and the color and light technology behind the Philips Ambilight TV.
From the orange and gold of fall to the pink cherry blossoms of spring, Signatures follows an entire winter deep in the hardwoods of Hokkaido, Japan. Deliciously deep January blower to April corn, we bring you a film about expression and the art of riding on snow. Every turn has a personality, and every personality has its own unique style: the air, the smear, the spin, the grab, the laid-out cutback carve. Shot in HD, Signatures is 100% human powered riding in all snow-sliding styles: board, noboard, ski, and drop-knee.
Follow 3 women as they experience a 100+ km traverse from the Bugs to Rogers in British Columbia.
