The world of ski movies comes with its own set of archetypes: There’s the street-smart park kid, the wild-haired big mountain ripper and the daredevil cliff-hucker. And then there is the token female.
“There are 10 to 15 guys, and then there’s that one token girl,” said Rachael Burks, a professional skier who has been that girl in films by Teton Gravity Research and Warren Miller. “There are so many women who are capable and who are just ripping, amazing skiers who have little opportunity because of that paradigm. That’s not the way it should be.”
Burks, along with fellow professional skier Lynsey Dyer and other female athletes, are on a mission to smash that paradigm with “Pretty Faces.”
The film, which is the first-ever crowd-sourced, crowd-funded all-women’s ski movie, will play at the Smiley Building today.
“Pretty Faces” is a celebration of women who thrive in snow – from pioneers like Wendy Fisher to younger generation rippers like Tatum Monod. The film follows these women as they slash across backcountry faces, thread lines down precipitous Alaska spines, skin for their turns, tackle bold ski mountaineering routes and soar through parks.
That these women are amazing athletes is undisputable. But the film goes beyond just showcasing their talents to explore their motivations – finding freedom, chasing the joy of powder, following their dreams and shattering boundaries of what people thought possible.
“Pretty Faces” is the brainchild of Dyer, a pro skier, artist, photographer and action-sports model who has skied on six continents and appeared in several ski movies. Dyer also cofounded the nonprofit SheJumps, which aims to increase female participation in the outdoors.
She was inspired to make the film, she said, by a desire to showcase the many remarkable female athletes out there who don’t get a proper opportunity to display their talents.
“I just felt like it needed to be done,” Dyer said. “I felt like there was an open niche to spotlight all of these incredible athletes. I felt a responsibility to make it happen.”
Dyer said many in the industry dismissed the idea as something viewers wouldn’t be interested in. Sponsors were skeptical, and the industry didn’t take her seriously, she said. But she was undaunted. Working closely with Burks, Elyse Saugstad and other female skiers, Dyer launched a grassroots effort to make the film.
A Kickstarter campaign helped to raise money, athletes worked for free and others volunteered their time, energies and talents to “Pretty Faces.” Dyer said it was a true labor of love.
“It was very scrappy,” she said.
Filmed in locations that span British Columbia, Wyoming and Alaska, “Pretty Faces” features athletes like Ingrid Backstrom, Lexi Dupond, Pip Hunt and McKenna Peterson. Both Burks and Dyer – who is arguably the strongest skier of the film – also star in several segments. It’s energetic and infectious, an inspiring look at just how daring and capable women can be.
And while naysayers told Dyer there would be no interest, screenings have disproved that. Dyer said as far as she knows, “Pretty Faces” has sold out every show. (“Non-stop high-fives, you know,” Burks said.)
Dyer said she learned an important lesson in making “Pretty Faces.”
“I think the biggest thing is, I’m always preaching: Go make the impossible possible, and I can’t preach that unless I’m doing that myself,” she said. “I hope that it gives people permission to go make their dreams happen, whether or not it’s skiing or filming. Anything’s possible.”
“It’s just proof that you can make it work,” Burks said.
“That was my goal, to inspire.”
kklingsporn@durangoherald.com
If you go
“Pretty Faces” will screen at 7 p.m. Friday at the Smiley Building, 1309 East Third Ave. Tickets are $10 and benefit the nonprofit SheJumps.
