CINEMATOGRAPHY. Another record-breaking season of iF3, the world’s biggest ski film festival, came to a close this October 11-12, in Whistler, BC, Canada. Whistler is the fifth and final event of the 2013 iF3 season, which began its world tour in Santiago, Chile before hitting Montreal, Canada; Annecy, France; and Innsbruck, Austria. The festival featured photos and film from the most elite production crews in the ski world, as well as autograph sessions, industry giveaways, and parties to match the massive scale of the event.

Half of the festival’s 20 awards for film were given out in Montreal, with the other half bestowed upon the winning production companies in Annecy. The new film from Sherpas Cinema, Into the Mind (trailer) was by far the most decorated film of the year, winning Best Cinematography, Best Big Mountain Movie, Film of the Year, and Best Editing. Sherpas Cinema had properly celebrated this victory by enclosing this IF3 festival within his team at whistler.

Taking the coveted Jury’s Favorite award was Sweetgrass Productions’ Valhalla (trailer), also winning the award for Best Storytelling. The strong showing of Valhalla and Into the Mind marks an impressive shift in the types of films taking top honors at the festival. In the past, formulaic offerings from big production companies such as Matchstick Productions or Poor Boyz Productions have done well; this year’s winning films feature a much more abstract and artistic approach to filmmaking.

From the world of the Freeride World Tour, female riders Matilda Rapaport (SWE) and Loraine Huber (AUT) were both nominated in the Best Female Freerider category, with Huber taking the prize. FWT staff photographer Jeremy Bernard (FRA) took the photo award for best image of the year (Innsbruck 2013).

Full results from the 2013 festival are available at www.iF3awards.com.

by David Carlier / Freeride World Tour
15-10-2013, 15:01