If you're disappointed by the number of women in major ski films out this fall (you can count them on one hand), some new start-up ski film projects featuring all-female casts may offer some solace.
This week, two all-women ski movie projects released teasers for feature films. One is "Hecuba" by Apres Visuals, a film starring skiers Crystal Wright, Jess McMillan, Kim Havell, and Karissa Tuthill, shot mainly in Wyoming's Teton Range. That film will debut likely next spring at film festivals.
The other project is called "Pretty Faces" by Unicorn Picnic Productions, a creation by pro skier Lynsey Dyer that features a long list of female athletes including Ingrid Backstrom, Rachael Burks, Elyse Saugstad, Grete Eliassen, Angel Collinson, Lexi Dupont, Rebecca Selig, Pip Hunt, Michelle Parker, Leah Evans, Jackie Paaso and more. That film, a collaboration with many existing film companies, will debut in fall 2013.
The fact that both projects came out in the same week? Purely a coincidence. "Lynsey's project is extraordinary," said Kim Havell, who appears in "Hecuba." "Our film has a different task -- there will be an overarching story line, narration, and interviews. Our goal is not necessarily to be 'go girl' but to let the skiing speak for itself. We want to talk about our experience as women in skiing, but that's not necessarily the focus of the film."
Both film projects were started partly as a result of the lack of women in other major ski films. "Everyone would love to be filming with TGR, MSP, and doing high-level skiing with a good budget, but there are so few opportunities for us to do that," said Havell. "So we came together and decided, 'why don't we do a collective endevour?'"
According to Dyer, "Pretty Faces" is meant to plant a seed for what girls are capable of. "My biggest intention with the film is to include the voice of the early pioneers that we owe so much to for paving the way as well as including the voice of little girls who are growing up," says Dyer, co-founder of the non-profit She Jumps. "Little girls these days need more female role models -- my whole intent is to show them that they exist."