Creating Space for Women at evo's Winter Film Fest
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By: Sammi Bushman | For: Everyone, but especially women and girls | November 2, 2023
There’s something powerful about holding space for women to gather, celebrating what they love, and uniting to discuss the challenges and joys of being a woman who loves skiing or snowboarding. We THRIVE in winter sports, but the industry behind our passions has historically refused to center our stories.
So, evo found three incredible women’s snow films and gave them a prime-time spot to change that. The result has been nothing short of spectacular.
The producers of Advice for Girls, Chop your own Wood, and Giant Beasts, Tiny People, understand what it’s like to be a woman in a world made for men. Their new movies, featuring a diverse cast of identities, ages, and walks of life, examine what it’s like to chase our dreams and find community and success in doing what brings us joy. Most importantly, they center the female voices that the ski industry has kept out of the spotlight.
With tour dates around the country, evo’s first WFF invites everyone to experience the power of collective joy. At our premiere in SLC, over 150 women and allies celebrated women and the important topics surrounding representation in the industry in the spotlight.
We ALL deserve to take up space and be our authentic selves. Most ski films center men, but at evo, women take center stage.
Communication, Confidence, and Camaraderie
What it’s like to work on an All-Female Team:
There’s space for EVERYONE in skiing, but historically this has not been the case. Women’s sports aren’t given the same air-time as men, despite the numbers showing we’re just as enthusiastic about participating. Athletes put so much weight into being the one. They’re trying to snag that token women’s segment in the latest movie, get the coveted sponsorship, and often struggle to make their opinions heard in these male-dominated spaces.
Advice for Girls and the other movies featured in the Film Fest take the pressure off being “The One” by featuring MANY women in the spotlight. In Mary Rand’s “Giant Beasts Tiny People,” the male heli-owner is the guest. Advice for Girls features an all-woman cast and crew.
“Working on an all-woman ski movie is different than your average film,” Director Sara Beam Robbins said. “It proves the importance of comradery and the wonders of collective joy. It’s empowering. It builds you. And yes, you can still get shit done.”
When women feel confident in themselves, they can show up for others and do more for themselves.
“We’re basically each other's number-one fans. So, no matter how we're feeling, we're always like, oh my gosh, you're absolutely crushing it. You deserve to be here. Like, you're a very valuable part of this team. You look beautiful right now,” Producer and Athlete Addy Jacobsend said. “We just are always hyping each other up, and that makes such a big difference to know that the ladies on your team are on your team and they're cheering you on.”
Beyond joy, the comfort of being surrounded by support inspires growth.
“I might not be like skiing spines in Alaska yet, But I am making content that people are connecting with. That’s important for people to feel seen in this industry,” Athlete and Producer Sierra Schlag said.
At WFF, women, including those who are trans, people of color, and adaptive athletes, document their experiences of growing into themselves and their sport. Supported by an all-women’s production team, nothing is off limits in Advice for Girls. As a result, they have created a supportive environment that showcases the power of community and being yourself.
“Skiing is so much more than just like hucking cliffs or skiing the biggest line. Like. For so many of us, and this was like, very apparent when speaking with our transgender athletes, is that the first time they ever felt home in their bodies was when they were skiing,” Beam Robbins Said.
Advice for Girls
So what do the ladies of film have to say to women? They’re still figuring that out. They might be on the big screen, but they’re just like you: women learning, growing, and finding their way in a world that sometimes makes us want to scream.
“Being a woman is exhausting. It's a full-time job,” Schlag said.
We can all agree that it’s important to hold space for others, stand tall, and be yourself. But sometimes, this is easier said than done. So, here’s what the girls have to say, after a season of leaning on each other and growing in skiing.
Producer Iz La Motte: “I think women so often are convinced that they need to be small to make everyone else happy. We're past that point. Make yourself big, ask for what you need, scream it from the rooftops, and don't let anyone else make you feel small.”
Photographer Katie Cooney: “Don’t let yourself listen to the people that don't want to be there with you or don't want you to be with them. and don't be afraid to ask allies around you to speak up with you.”
Athlete and Producer Sierra Schlag: “I think as women, you suffer from imposter syndrome, and you sometimes are like, do I deserve this? Do I deserve to be paid in the ski industry? I'm not skiing as crazy things as the men in my life or in the ski world. But through this whole process, I'm learning that I do. And it has gotten me contracts and more opportunities that will hopefully boost my ski career.”
At some point, we need to acknowledge that this feeling of being an outsider in our own bodies, this immense weight of living up to some imaginary standards, is a product of inequity. By creating a space filled with women who look like us, ski like us, and dance like us, we can be empowered to make the world more inclusive.
Hopefully one day we can say: we did that, we changed. And not: why are we still fighting for the same rights our grandmothers wanted? Until then, the next time someone says, “Why do we need another all-women ski movie?” Remind them that most ski movies are made up entirely of men.
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