Europe’s largest outdoor film festival takes in 500 venues in 20 countries and when it arrives in our little corner of the Alps for the second year in a row, we’re expecting another full house. Our assembled crowd of 250 people will enjoy ten short films showcasing the world’s most extraordinary adventurers. In advance of the Montriond & Morzine screening of the European Outdoor Film Tour hosted by Morzine Source Magazine at the Domaine du Baron on Lake Montriond on Tuesday 7th April 2020, we’ve spoken with personalities from three of the movies on this year’s programme.
This is a snowboard movie with a difference.
“It’s about getting older in a sport and lifestyle that’s seemingly built on eternal youth,” explains Elias Elhardt of his movie Contraddiction. “It’s about taking responsibility for how we choose to live in the context of snowboarding, and yet a homage to the beauty and lightheartedness of the sport.”
Elias is Germany’s poster boy for snowboarding and has been competing professionally for over ten years, giving him the chance to see inside “this little snowboard world from many sides and the space and time to question my role in it.” The movie examines the contradictions between snowboarding and living a responsible life. It considers subjects such as the sport’s eco footprint versus the benefits of growing up doing sports that keep us all inspired.
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- Image Credit – Carlos Blanchard
Many of Elias’ best mates feature in Contraddiction; in many ways the movie feels like an honest discussion amongst friends over where the sport they love so much is heading.
“This film is based on the subjects and the people that are most important to me,” Elias explains. “It was a chance to do something that I can really stand behind and identify with.”
But can snowboarding be truly ageless? Aside from perhaps some physical limitations, can we be forever excited? “I think nothing is ever without an age,” answers Elias. “Being young is such a limited period in our lives, but being excited about what we do, snowboarding for instance, can make it last much longer.”
Right after making Contraddiction, Elias moved on to his next project, Narcis. He spent most of last winter in Kosovo making a film about a small ski town developing in an area that has previously been defined by war. “In the future, I’d love to continue on the route of filmmaking while using snowboarding as a platform to tell stories.”
