This year, the Freeride Film Festival (FFF) is more varied and diverse than ever before. On the cinema tour from 4 to 17 November 2022 through Austria, Germany and Switzerland, viewers can expect a colorful mix of locations, nationalities, genres and topics. Headliners of the festival are the two snowboard icons Xavier De Le Rue and Elias Elhardt."We are living in extremely challenging times. Despite the many crises, we want to offer people an entertaining evening at the cinema, but one that is also thought-provoking," explains FFF co-organizer Volker Hölzl. "Accordingly, we have selected the films and offer a wide range of topics and approaches: from the sense of responsibility in freeriding to experimental live performances to the portrait of a Russian skier who has to leave his home country because of his attitude towards the Ukraine war."The five ski and snowboard films shown at the total of ten tour stops in Austria, Germany and Switzerland impress with stylistic and artistic approaches as well as breathtaking action and profound insights. All in all, the program is a potpourri of unique settings, grandiose characters and individual productions that also don't miss a touch of slapstick.About serious risks and side effects"With Xavier De Le Rue and Elias Elhardt we could win two absolute superstars of the snowboard scene for our festival", Harry Putz, also co-organizer of the FFF, is pleased. "With their film ‚Invisible Ground', the two show how a feeling of irresponsibility creeps up on them as they experience tragic avalanche accidents. They become aware of their role modeling in a way that is completely new to them. Furthermore, they face their own vulnerability. Great cinema in the truest sense of the word." "Luzbha," the second feature-length film of the evening, indirectly takes up the most geopolitically burning issue of the present. In December 2021, a group of Austrian skiers travel to Siberia to ski the powder of their lives with local freeride pioneer Anton. Carefree and full of enthusiasm, the new friends experience the beauty of freeriding. But a few months later, reality has changed dramatically for Anton, who was already very critical of the regime.The freedom of art and fun "We definitely want our program to address particularly pressing issues and problems of our time," says Volker Hölzl. "Nevertheless, we also want to give the audience novel impressions and a pinch of lightness. That's why we chose the Swiss production 'Gale,' in which a DJ plays the music to the film live in the theater. We also deliberately chose 'Sinner Fields,' a short film bursting with irony and comedy."To further underscore the spirit of adventure, "La Forteresse" can be found in the 2022 FFF selection. This self-documented journey takes two Dutch skiers from their homeland to the Alps of western Switzerland - to the dreaded couloir La Forteresse, where falling is not an option. A border crossing of a special kind, that much can already be revealed.For further information, visit https://freeride-filmfestival.com/en/The films at a glanceInvisible GroundAfter tragic avalanche accidents, professional snowboarders Xavier De Le Rue and Elias Elhardt deeply question their motivation for the potentially life threatening pursuit of freeriding, which they’ve dedicated their lives to. During several days in the mountains together, they share their personal experiences with risk throughout their careers and what being vulnerable actually means to them. By questioning unrealistic ideas of control, Invisible Ground sets out to explore how to obtain a reasonable balance between the love for adventure and a misguided drive to expose oneself.LuzhbaWhile searching for fluffy powder in Siberia, a group of Austrian friends meet 40-year-old freeride pioneer Anton. The local tells of his first ski expeditions in the mountains outside the dirty industrial town of Novokuznetsk, where he was born. Together, the group now sets out for the nearby ski station "Luzhba". This documentary also underlines that regardless of the prevailing circumstances, one should always fight to live one's desired reality - this changes abruptly for Anton due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.GaleA splitboard adventure in various locations in the Swiss Alps as a mystical-looking work of film art. The freestyle aesthetes Levi Luggen and Gregor Betschon show the different facets of touring combined with dynamic artistic shots. Together with sound artist Andreas Achermann, they create a unique world of images and sounds. The work is composed especially for live performances and will be performed as Ciné Concert. The sounds of the synthesizer - accompanied by lyrical texts by Joshua Truscott - take the audience on an extraordinary winter journey.La ForteresseLes Dents du Midi, the "Teeth of the South", is the name of a mountain range in the Swiss canton of Valais, which owes its name to seven peaks of roughly the same height. In this beautiful place, the two Dutch freeriders Loïc Isliker and Paul de Groot wanted to test their limits anew and conquer the couloir "La Forteresse". This breathtaking adventure is narrated by the voice of the legendary local mountain guide Jacky Pochon.Sinner FieldsLaughter is allowed! In this short movie, Bavarian skier Bernhard Braun not only demonstrates his solid wheat beer proficiency but also down-to-earth basic English skills and plenty of self-irony. The fact that the lonely camping wolf in Kaunertal catches a few really fat powder days on the side rounds off the picture of an entertaining adventurer perfectly. And he expresses what we all think: "Ei laik freeriding a lot".Tour dates 202204.11. 20:00 - 23:00 ZELL AM SEE / KAPRUN, Burg Kaprun09.11. 19:00 - 22:00 INNSBRUCK, Metropol Kino10.11. 19:00 - 22:00 WOLFURT, Cubus11.11. 19:00 - 22:00 ANDERMATT, Konzerthalle12.11. 19:00 - 22:00 ENGELBERG, Kursaal13.11. 19:00 - 22:00 SCHRUNS, Kulturbühne14.11. 19:00 - 22:00 GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Kongresshaus15.11. 19:00 - 22:00 STUTTGART, Gloria Kino16.11. 19:00 - 22:00 MUNICH, Alte Kongresshalle17.11. 20:00 - 23:00 VIENNA, Gartenbaukino