Looking for a sweet stocking stuffer? Azadi Freedom by B4Apres is a great little ski flick that is an interesting documentry about Kashmir's Gulmarg region. If you buy the movie before Christmas, you are entered to win a sweet selection of swag from the movie's sponsors.
Buy "AZADI:Freedom" before Christmas and go in the draw to win Moment skis, Haglofs Outerwear, Black Diamond ski pack, Icebreaker baselayers and Smith helmet and goggles.
I have always wanted to make a film at some point in my life, just to do it. I really never thought I would get around to it til I was 50 or something. Last year though after spending a month skiing there, I had the idea and when a few plans didn't come together last summer, I decided to go for it. My personal motivation after ski bumming for years, was that I wanted to continue to develop my storytelling skills and to keep skiing. Taking on the Kashmir conflict through skiing gave me the best of both those worlds. Conceptually I really wanted to show Kashmir in a more positive light than it has been cast in the last 20 years. Skiing gave us the ideal opportunity to do that because there are particular things happening in Kashmir only because of skiing. It was a natural fit.
How difficult was it to work with the authorities up there?
We never had any trouble. The military are pretty benign when it comes to foreigners. We kept a low profile also, and gave respect where was respect was due. This one day though we wanted to ski our past a military check point that you can ski through from the other direction when the gondola is open, but apparently not the way we wanted to. The commander kept refusing, so I tried to convince him to drive us through in a huge military truck for some rupees in the hand. He almost agreed, but then his superior showed up and turned us away for good.
How much time in the editing suite did you spend?
That is a good question. We started editing in March and I have been working on it full time until now, August. Being my first film there was a lot of tech stuff I needed to get up to speed on, but also a certain amount of having to walk away from a segment, or the whole film at a point in order to get a fresh perspective on things.
What's the single biggest lesson you've learned up to this point about making a film?
Again, another good question. I would have to say dealing with truth. Especially where Kashmir is concerned. There are so many different versions of a story in Kashmir that it was really difficult to lock onto any one sentiment. We wanted to show Kashmir as a safe destination to travel, and I do feel it is, but it is still quite volatile. Deciding how much to say about certain things proved to be the most difficult aspect in terms of the truth about what we were showing. We really wanted to present an honest perspective on our experience in Kashmir and I think showing some of the darker side of Kashmir and it's history actually legitimizes many of the really positive things we present.
Will you make more movies?
That is yet to be seen. I want to wait and see how "Azadi" is received before I move towards another. I thoroughly enjoyed the process and would like to, but I need to pay some bills first. Chasing dreams is an expensive business. This winter will likely be one to regroup and get some faceshots of my own.
Where can we see it?
We have submitted the film to a handful of film festivals and so far we have been accepted to IF3.ca in Montreal in September so that will be the premier. I hope to pull some shows together in the major BC ski towns this fall and some throughout the USA during the winter. Otherwise, it will be available on DVD shortly and we are actually opening the site up for pre-orders now.
Shout outs?
Absolutely. My right hand man in Kashmir; Will Lascelles. All the athletes that made the trek over to Kashmir; Colin Puskas, Pete Velisek, Forrest Coots, Chad Sayers, Shane Carmichael. All the wonderful Kashmiri people that opened up their world to us. The wicked crew of talented people that offered their energy in post production; Matt Westcott, Sarah Metzner and Ryan Thibault. Huge thanks also goes to the companies that got behind the project; yours truly here at Biglines, Haglofs, Moment Skis, Icebreaker, Black Diamond, Powderguide.com and Smith Optics.
