Featured Image: Taylor Loughran | Skier: Joe Schuster
On Movie Monday, FREESKIER brings you free movies from the wide world of skiing. With a mix of old and new, this is where you can find your weekly dose of freeski history, adrenaline and cinema mastery all in one.
The art of the short film has exploded in the last decade, and not just across the wide world of skiing. Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo have made sharing these petite projects easier than ever. You no longer need a lengthy movie to draw in an audience. But creating a series of shorter ski films wasn’t always this common. Almost 10 years ago, more of these series began to emerge, and some of our all-time favorites to this day are the movies made by the Seeking Nirvana crew.
This group of Canadian powder hounds stood out thanks to their dedication to precision. They incorporated subtle yet meaningful sound design and animations, masterful cinematography and, of course, some of the finest freeriding around. Featuring a legendary lineup consisting of Mike Henitiuk, Joe Schuster, Riley Leboe and Matt Margetts, the team made many excellent videos. Their first one, titled “Home,” is this week’s FREESKIER Movie Monday feature. With an aesthetic that blends the Whistler backcountry with Wes Anderson, this is a film will wash away all your worries. Dive into the through the lens of the Seeking Nirvana crew.
Watch “Home” for FREE below
This is the mountain village of Whistler, 675m above sea level. Forested with old growth fir and cedar. An important black bear habitat. Criss-crossed by deep valleys making way to endless glaciers. There are few paved roads but instead many miles of intersecting logging roads and dirt trails. It is an El Nino year. We are on the far edge of the Howe Sound, famous for fierce storms, which will make landfall from the west, come December.
4 men make haste into the storm in search of vast powder bowls, to which the mountain village has garnered a reputation. A difficult task, travelling the unchartered terrain, requires the groups combined wits. Only persistence and a spot of luck will reward success. The adventure begins in the mountain village they call home but foreign lands beckon. A journey awaits and a feeling desired. We follow this group, through trials and triumph, Seeking Nirvana.
Created by: Mike Henitiuk, Joe Schuster, Riley Leboe, Matt Margetts
Cinematography by: Taylor Loughran
Edited by: Leigh Powis
Narration by: Colby James West, Jay Henitiuk
Graphic Design by: Alex Viau
