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Ski film festival The Meeting goes to the drive-in with new movies from Matchstick Productions and Teton Gravity Research

Andrew Travers, Aspen Times
"Huck Yeah" Courtesy photo

IF YOU GO …

What: The Meeting Film Festival

Where: Buttermilk Ski Area Drive-In

When: Friday, Sept. 18, 8:30 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 24 & Saturday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m.

How much: $40/car

Tickets and more info: aspensnowmass.com

The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t stopped skiers from skiing, of course, and won’t stop the annual ski film festival The Meeting from sharing the latest in snowsports cinema on the big screen.

The Meeting, traditionally held at the Wheeler Opera House, is moving to the drive-in theater at Buttermilk Ski Area for the pre-season of the virus. The 16th annual festival will feature just three movies, spread over two weekends, rather than packing more into a single weekend. And it will not include its actual “meeting” component – The Meeting’s annual ski industry marketing conference, hosted by the Aspen Skiing Co.

So get ready to get stoked for ski season 2020-21 with the latest from Matchstick Productions, Teton Gravity Research and an Aspen adventure.



“HUCK YEAH,” MATCHSTICK PRODUCTIONS

Friday, Sept. 18, 8:30 p.m.

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Local freeskier Torin Yater-Wallace is among the high-flying and freakishly good skiers in this season’s release from Matchstick. Also featuring stars Sam Kuch, Bobby Brown, Michelle Parker, Karl Fostvedt, Arianna Tricomi and Lucas Wachs, the film takes viewers to the steeps and deeps of Jackson Hole, Whitewater, B.C. and Whistler as well as Rusutsu, Japan and points in between.

As the title implies, it’s a straightforward stokefest. Some of the first words in the trailer – between shots of massive cliff hucks – are a giddy skier saying simply, “I just want to ski, man. Skiing feels so good. It’s the best.”https://player.swiftcom.com/?v=HowDa38qi_0&refhost=www.aspentimes.com&refurl=

“MAKE BELIEVE,” TETON GRAVITY RESEARCH

Thursday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m.

Still the gold standard of ski and snowboard cinema, Teton Gravity Research is celebrating 25 years of movies with “Make Believe.”

The cast of athletes includes Aspen’s own Colter Hinchliffe. The concept, along with celebrating the big anniversary, jumps off of the ski bum motto of “living the dream,” digging into how these athletes manifest their big-as-mountains dreams and push progressive skiing to the next level with every trick and huck. “Make Believe” promises to be a thoughtful ode to the mountain lifestyle as well as the adrenaline-pumping cinematic powder session we’ve come to expect from TGR.https://player.swiftcom.com/?v=oTib5NzQSgY&refhost=www.aspentimes.com&refurl=

“TRANSAMERICA,” RICKEY GATES

Thursday, Sept. 26, 8 p.m.

Aspen born and raise, ultra-marathoner and endurance hero Rickey Gates in 2017 embarked on a cross-country run from South Carolina to San Francisco. He covered 3,700 miles over five months. The trip ended up being anthropological as much as athletic, as Gates found himself getting to know his own country and his countrymen during a bitterly divided moment for the U.S.

“It’s about getting out and meeting people, forcefully breaking down our own barriers with our neighbors and ourselves,” Gates told the Aspen Times over the summer after publishing his book about the experience, “Cross Country.” “If it inspires anyone to do something similar or just go for a walk around the block, then it’s icing on the cake.”

Gates and his experiences are now the subject of this feature-length documentary.

atravers@aspentimes.com


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