"Skiing powder" is a socially meaningless pursuit. However, there are many people around the world who find meaning in it. The film "THE MEANINGLESS PURSUIT OF SNOW," which portrays five people deeply connected by this backcountry culture, will be screened at five venues across Japan from Saturday, January 20th to Sunday, January 28th, 2024
This snow film SWEETGRASS PRODUCTIONS in 2023. Five snowboarders appear in the film, with snowboarder Jun Gomyo being the only one from Japan. It tells the story of people who are fascinated by powder snow and the backcountry, transcending barriers of language, gender, and culture.
Characters
ATSUSHI GOMYO Atsushi Gomei
NAGANO, JAPAN
Jun Gomei started snowboarding at the age of 10. After discovering snowboards in his mid-twenties, powder riding became his purpose in life, and he began making his own boards. Nearly 20 years have passed since then, and every winter Jun lives in his van, chasing snow and traveling around Japan with his friends
Photo: © Garrett Grove.
MELISSA GILL Melissa Gill
SALT LAKE CITY, UT Salt Lake City, Utah
Melissa Gill and her partner, Joe Lohr, bonded over their shared love of the mountains. One day, while touring in Wyoming's Teton Range, Joe fell and died right before Melissa's eyes. Her story is one of resilience, of finding joy in the backcountry when it took everything
Photo: © Adam Clark.
AURÉLIEN ROUTENS
LA GRAVE, FRANCE La Grave, France
Aurélien Luten and his partner Agathe Margheriti bought a 400-year-old off-grid village above the French town of La Grave, where they make a living selling eggs from their 200 chickens, restoring the buildings using salvaged materials, and skiing some of Europe's most dramatic mountains
Photo: © Garrett Grove.
VIKI WOODWORTH Vicky Woodworth
EAST BURKE, VT East Burke, Vermont
Vicky Fleckenstein Woodworth grew up skiing in the forests of America's East Coast. After traveling the world as an Olympic ski racer, she settled in Vermont, where she taught her daughter, Tasha, how to ski race. Decades later, Tasha returned the favor by taking her mother out into the backcountry
Photo: © Garrett Grove.
VANESSA CHAVARRIAGA POSADA Vanessa Chavarriaga Posada
JACKSON, WY Jackson, Wyoming
Vanessa Chavarria-Posada never skied as a child. Born and raised in Colombia as an undocumented immigrant, she felt that skiing was expensive and that it would be hard to fit in. But when she tried backcountry skiing as a university student, she found a deeper sense of belonging than she had imagined
Photo: © Joey Sackett.
Trailer
Event Overview
Advance reservations are required for each venue and participation is free
| Date and time | venue | schedule | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 20th (Sat) | Patagonia Sapporo North | Doors open at 18:15 / Show starts at 18:30 / Ends at 20:00 | 30 people |
| January 21st (Sun) | Patagonia Sendai | Doors open at 18:20 / Event starts at 18:30 / Ends at 20:00 | 30 people |
| 1/26(Fri) | Kanda Square (2-2-1 Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) *Not the Patagonia Kanda Store, but a different venue | Doors open at 18:45 / Starts at 19:00 / Ends at 20:30 | 80 people |
| 1/27(Sat) | Patagonia Hakuba/Outlet | Doors open at 18:30 / Starts at 19:00 / Ends at 20:30 | 40 people |
| January 28th (Sunday) | Patagonia Kyoto | Doors open at 18:15 / Event starts at 18:30 / Ends at 20:00 | 35 people |
Information
Patagonia
Official website: https://www.patagonia.jp/home/Official
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