Adventuring to undiscovered peaks together, plotting midnight-raids on inner-city handrails, lapping your home run until that last ray of sunshine disappears behind a distant ridge - Skiing is Collective. Some call it a tribe mentality, others call it a shared sense of purpose. This film is our definition, written by a diverse team, each with their own ideas, their own forms of expression. "The Collective" is more than a sum of its parts. No matter who you are or where you come from - it feels good to be part of something special.
In 1999 the old sport of skiing had just been given new life, and Level 1 was conceived to document its progress into the future. With twenty years in the rearview mirror it still stands true- new things never get old. Romance, the final chapter of annual films by Level 1, captures a modern-day Golden Age in skiing. Featuring a generation of talent that came of age in the best time to ever do it. Tweaking the formula, tweaking the grab, and in it for nothing but the love.
Zigzag. 1. a pattern created using alternating course. 2. another word for skiing. Following nearly two decades of ski movie pedigree, Level 1 documents a lifestyle of contradiction. Timeless ephemera. Love and money. Natural and synthetic. Powder and slush. Stagnant and innovative. Untracked and well-travelled. Consistent but not predictable. Swerving left, right and diagonal, yet never asleep at the wheel. Featured Athletes: Parker White, Laurent De Martin, Sämi Ortlieb, Chris Logan, Will Berman, Keegan Kilbride, Will Wesson, Thayne Rich, Peyben Hägglund, KC Deane, LJ Strenio, Khai Krepela, Kim Boberg, Oliver Karlberg, Tanner Rainville, Duncan Adams, Ahmet Dadali, McRae Williams, Wiley Miller, and Friends. Featured Locations: Eagle Pass Heli, BC. Sunshine Village, Banff. Mt Baker, Washington. Sweden. Gran Masta Park, Switzerland. Hokkaido, Japan. Moscow, Russia. Helsinki, Finland. Whistler, BC. Colorado. Montana. Michigan. Minnesota.
Follow the Faction Collective as they return to their homes around the world to show us how they get it done on home turf. From Europe to the US and back again – via old playgrounds, new challenges, secret spots and favourite lines – This Is Home chronicles what it means to be a freeskier today: where the conditions are what you make of them, and the search for that perfect ride starts in your own backyard.
Go out into the world, they say… see it for yourself! But in an age where any destination is in the palm of your hand- just a click away, what is left to truly explore? Level 1 examines the universal dialect of moving down snow on two feet through a lens of fresh perspective- documenting the outer niches of a sport pushed under the rug by the modern day ski zeitgeist. From the secret valleys of Switzerland, the ancient cities of Estonia, to the rowdy rope-tows of Minnesota- follow us around the globe as we capture skiing in its purest form. It’s a Small World, after all.