Inside the Summit Action Sports Film Festival

It’s not everyday that an Action Sports Film Festival pops up out of the blue but a couple weeks ago the announcement came out about the first annual Action Sports Film Festival in Breckenridge, Colorado. This four day event will host screenings, interviews, photography, activities and music right in the middle of two of the biggest contests of the year. I caught up with Summit’s event coordinator Cort Muller to find out more about the Film Festival and what people can expect from such a fun event this December.

Shay: What is the Summit Action Sports Film Festival?
This event is a PARTY! We are bringing together the talents of snowboarding and skiing and letting em loose on the town of Breckenridge. We set out to create a film festival in the right place, at the right time and make it accessible to the masses. Film makers, athletes and visitors alike will have a chance to come together and celebrate the culture of action sports. Three nights of screening the worlds best snow films will each be coupled with after-parties, art and photography exhibits and music. To close things down right, we’re hosting a grand awards ceremony and concert on Dec. 11th at the Riverwalk Ampitheater in downtown Breckenridge. Guest athletes and celebrities will host the evening and award the best films of each category. Although it’s not mandatory, don’t be afraid to get dressed up! A red carpet entry and photo wall will greet the guests as the night kicks off with a cocktail hour, DJ and photo gallery. The awards ceremony itself will bring todays top talent to the stage to accept their well deserved custom awards and introduce the faces and personalities behind these films. Finish things off with a banger concert and we’re going to have one for the books!

[singlepic id=10091 w=489 h=275 float=]

Shay: This is the 1st year for the Film Festival, why now and who is helping support the film?
This is something that there has been a need for for some time now. Many of the existing film festivals go down before there is snow on the ground or in an area that’s just not that accessible to the public. There is a lot going on in Summit County around this time, but this particular week is just screaming out for some nightlife and entertainment!

Breckenridge Resort was one of the first sponsors to recognize the potential in the festival and jump on board. Their support has been crucial and We really couldnt have taken after this thing without their support. We are trying hard to keep sponsorships to a relevant group. We want this event to represent film, action sports and the community and Resort of Breckenridge. Not looking to host the Taco-Bell Fajita Film Festival here, ya know? (that is unless Taco-bell wants to throw us 50k, in which case we’ll gladly wear burrito suits, give out chalupas for awards and print the festival programs on tortillas).

Shay: Is the Summit Action Sports Film Festival limited to just snowboarding or will there be other sports present?
Our plan for the festival is to host snowboard and ski films for this debut year and branch out into additional avenues of action sports in the years to come. But just as the snow sports world shows up for events like summer X-games, you can expect the whole range of action sports personalities to be here for this event.

Shay: Can anyone attend the Film Festival?
This is for everyone.

Shay: What other events will be going on around the Film Festival in Breckenridge?
The timing is absolutely PRIME! The season has really started firing at this time. Breckenridge was the most visited resort in North America last year and we will fit right in amongst the other events around Colorado. The Grand Prix will be going down that week and Dew Tour will be ramping up For their first event of the season the following week. Breckenridge becomes the very pulse of what’s happening in snowboarding and skiing during that month. Everyone in the competitive realm comes to Summit County to get loosened up on the first jumps of the season and sticks around for Dew Tour, Zumiez 100k, SIA and X-games. Having that kind of energy surrounding the event and all of the personality that comes to town kinda makes it a “no -brainer”.

[singlepic id=10092 w=500 h=333 float=]

Shay: What kind of films will be showcasing at the Film Festival? Will people be able to expect local films or nationally known films?
We have set out to host the full spectrum here. Film is an incredible medium to express yourself or a groups perspective! With all of the different styles and approaches to skiing and snowboarding, we are committed to representing them all! You can expect to see new takes on big mountain riding, death defying urban assaults and even representations from productions based in other countries.

We are working on trying to get the local films some love, but it’s important that this event is so explosive that it gets marked on next years calendar before it’s even over. We are currently working with 29 films over a 3 day screening period, so just communicating with the various productions has really been a full time job in itself. In short, you can expect to see some of the worlds finest in cinematic expression of love for the snow.

Shay: What do you think will be the most successful night of the Film Festival?
With the way the whole event is being produced, you can either just come out for a movie, the whole night or just surrender to the energy (lots of rebulls) and join us for the week.

If I had to pick a night, I guess I would probably sign myself up for the awards ceremony. The venue is incredible, the presentation and design that’s going into the event is amazing and it’s not everyday that you get to put a community like Breckenridge and the action sports industry under one roof. It’s going to go off! Let’s just say that the week of the event, there won’t be a night that anyone is wondering what to do!

Shay: Thanks to Cort for taking the time to talk about the Summit Action Sports Film Festival.

For more information head to www.thesummitfilmfestival.com and head to the Facebook page to become a fan