Whistler’s first ever multimedia showdown kicked off last night. An eclectic mix of video, animation, film, photography and creativity introduced a brand new artistic genre to the Telus festival.
Rocky Mountain Sherpas were, by far, the most prolific of the event, submitting a total of three pieces from their avalanche awareness movie, The Fine Line. 5000 Million Years was an animated story telling the tale of how we progressed from cavemen and dinosaurs to intelligent beings who enjoy sledding and big mountain skiing/riding. Did I mention that it was animated with about $500-worth of food? Next, Paper Shredders mixed epic skiing and riding footage with doodlings and cartoons. Sherpa Dave Mossop’s obsession for time lapse videography lead to the creation of Fluid Circles which featured insane shots of meteor showers, tides, and season changes.
The Writing is on the Wall by Mark Peachey and Xsenia was the most inspiring submission without a snowflake or board in sight. Piecing together words from signs all over the Big Apple, the artists created an inspiring message for us to change the world, be selfless and respect Mother Nature. I had a tear or two in my eye at the end of that one.
Lauren Graham’s film Mash explored the essence of “being a good person” on the streets of L.A., while Good Morning by Jan Schuster (brother of pro skiers Cam and Joe Schuster) captured the good times had with friends and athletes.
At the end of the show, the audience was asked to put their ping pong balls into a giant vase representing their favourite slideshow. The People’s Choice award went to Fluid Circles, while the judges selected Paper Shredders as the submission that best embodies the multimedia show.
Today, it’s on to the World Skiing Invitational Ski Superpipe on Blackcomb Mountain from 11am-3pm and then over to the Zune Concert Series to check out The Arkells and Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker (USS) from 2:30pm to 5pm. Then it’s over to the crown jewel of the festival, the 72-hour Filmmaker Showdown. Previous winners have explored the “stairs are for jerks and lamas” theme and the invention of skins by French-Canadian explorers who used the world “Tabernack”.
