Pretty Faces is the first ski movie to feature an all-female cast. We asked Revelstoke local shredder Leah Evans, founder of Girls Do Ski, to write about why this movie is important and what it meant for her to take part in filming. She says it’s all about support.
By Leah Evans, Girls Do Ski
What is it like to try? This is the question that I set out to explore last season as a professional skier and advocate of female skiing. Having been a professional skier for the last eight years, I’ve been very fortunate to explore, film and work with some of the leading professionals in the industry. However, I had yet to push my athletic boundaries to showcase what I could ski on film. When friend, professional skier and now filmmaker Lynsey Dyer decided she would be the change in the ski industry and spearhead an all female ski movie, I knew I had to use my resources and commit to this project.
The support fueling Pretty Faces has been astonishing. For example, the crowd-sourced Kickstarter campaign raised over $113,000. But beyond the monetary support, the unity that has been created throughout the female ski community has been outstanding. This feminine-centric media space has provided us with an outlet to express our own version of courage, grace, confidence, and vulnerability.
Personally, while filming for this film, I exercised my potential and came to a humble understanding of how much work (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually) it takes to film a segment for a ski movie. I remember one distinct moment when I was standing on top of a cliff and realized the amount of energy I had put into just “trying” to get one shot. It included organizing a cinematographer, sledding 20 kilometres and ski touring for two hours, all just to stand on top to talk myself into dropping. Needless to say, I didn’t land the cliff. But I learned what it was like to commit; to try, and to know that I supported myself in my jump.
Uniquely this project has also encouraged female athletes to spearhead their own filming projects and trips. One of the highlights of my season last year was when fellow professional skier, Izzy Lynch, and I ventured to Mike Wiegele Heli Skiing in Blue River, B.C., to challenge what we could do on skis. From multiple pillow drops and steep lines this was our time to go for it, ski fast and calculated.
This movie is all about support; it’s about the support that you need when standing on top of a cliff; it’s about the support that you need to commit that next drop; it’s about the support you need to pursue your potential.
I predict (and hope) that in the next few years we will see a younger generation of female skiers going ever bigger and pushing the limits with new pretty faces to take the reigns.
Pretty Faces makes its Canadian premiere at the Roxy Theatre on Friday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at Skookum.