Courtesy photo
The movie that was the main feature at last year’s The Meeting , “Free Solo,” went on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. That’s not going to happen again. Not that this year’s lineup of ski flicks isn’t great, but because the crossover of “Free Solo” into the mainstream was very much the exception and not the rule (mountain town dirtbags everywhere are still chuckling at the sight of Alex Honnold in a tuxedo on stage at the Oscars), the film was a masterpiece of outdoor filmmaking and a departure from The Meeting’s traditional rollout of the best and newest from ski movie production companies.
The Meeting’s 2019 lineup takes the annual film festival back to the core with four big new ski movies by ski movie studios and the beloved NEPSA local’s night at the Wheeler. Here’s what to expect:
Friday, Oct. 4, 6 p.m.
Wheeler Opera House
With 28 credited skiers, production company Level 1 is billing this as “the final chapter” – the 20th and final of its annual film releases, which have documented an era of hyper-speed progression in skiing.
In typical Level 1 fashion, it promises to be an irreverent mix of street, park and backcountry segments filmed from the Alps to the Rockies to downtown Denver and Minneapolis.
Friday, Oct. 4, 8:30 p.m.
Matchstick Productions’ latest – shot around British Columbia, Jackson, Squaw and Sun Valley – tracks four skiers at distinct places in their careers of sending it. The film bills Mark Abma as “the legend,” Sam Kuch as “the phenom,” Karl Fostvedt as “the innovator” and Logan Pehota as “the legacy,” following them on a winter’s worth of cliff drops, crash reels, heli skiing and uphills.
NEPSA AWARDS
Saturday, Oct. 5, photo contest 6 p.m.; short film contest 7 p.m.
The annual showdown of locally made ski parts, where the mood is light, the laughs and drinks are plenty and Aspen auteurs the Curtis Brothers are always the favorites for the win.
The traditionally raucous short film contest is preceded by the recent addition of a locals’ photo competition.
‘UNCONDITIONAL’ & ‘EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY’
Saturday, Oct 5, 9 p.m.
Belly Up Aspen
This snowboarding double-bill at Belly Up features a short profile of X Games slopestyle legend Jamie Anderson and friends into the backcountry and the “Everybody, Everybody” crew into urban boarding sessions. It’s followed by a concert by hip-hop legends The Pharcyde.