Earlier this semester, The UBC Ski and Board Club, Varsity Outdoor Club, Environmental Science Students Association, and UBC Surf Club coordinated an three part event called the UBC Mountain Film Festival. These are all groups that spend the majority of their free time in the outdoors doing various sports such as climbing, skiing, surfing, and hiking. The UBC Mountain Film Festival was a three part action sports film series where each story was told through a sustainability lens. The first film, Guilt Trip by Salomon TV, told the story of three free skiers on a quest to ski the unchartered peaks of Greenland. The crew brought along a climate scientist to conduct research while they skied, hoping to collect valuable data about climate change in the area to ease their guilt about the large carbon footprint that ski trips like these typically have. The second film was The Radicals, presented by Tamo Campos and his crew of professional snowboarders. This film explored indigenous issues that arise as a result of corporate fisheries and the oil and gas industry. Lastly, the film All.I.Can by Sherpas Cinema was a more traditional ski film that used the art of filmmaking to subtly uncover the issues of global climate change and how it is affecting the ski industry and local communities. The directors of each film came to the screenings and sat down with the organizers on stage for an armchair discussion and Q&A about sustainability and filmmaking.

The UBC Mountain Film Festival screenings filled the crowd with emotions, and the directors’ discussion period allowed the viewers to engage directly and contribute to a discussion about environmental and social issues in the ski industry. I was lucky enough to help organize the event, and led the discussion with Guilt Trip director Mike Douglas, AKA “The Godfather of Freeskiing.” Growing up as a freeride and freestyle skier, Mike Douglas has been a pioneer in the sport and an inspiration to me personally. Our discussion highlighted the importance of teaching sustainability topics through interesting lenses like filmmaking. He shared with us how events like the UBC Mountain Film Festival give him hope, because he can directly see how engaged the younger generation is on the topic of climate change. This event attracted over 120 UBC students who have a connection to the outdoors. Next year, make sure you keep an eye out for the second round of the UBC Mountain Film Festival. We hope to engage the outdoor sports community with these sustainability films and continue the open discussion about climate change and social justice in action sports.