Cold Fronts

White Winter(de)

In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!

c̓əsnaʔəm: the city before the city(en)

People often think of Vancouver as a new city, when in fact this region has been occupied for 9,000 years. This film aims to correct that with a meaningful reminder of the history and prehistory of this land and her first people.

Black Ice(en)

Black Ice is a short film about a group of sailing enthusiasts who have adapted the principles of the sport to winter conditions. The sight of a fragile craft whisking across a frozen lake at one hundred km/h, leaving a shower of powdered ice in its wake, is breathtaking. Iceboat racing is exciting; a sport like no other in the world.

Passion for Snow(en)

What do Daniel Webster, Dr. Seuss, C. Everett Koop, Robert Frost and 100+ Winter Olympians have in common? They all spent time at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH where winters are long and snowy. Passion for Snow traces over 100 years of ski history in the United States with a focus on the many contributions of Dartmouth College and its alumni to the formation, growth and ongoing innovations in all aspects of snowsports. Passion for Snow combines firsthand accounts from early ski pioneers, veterans of the 10th Mountain Division, Olympians, members of the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame and top ski industry and resort executives, who explain how the most remotely located college in the Ivy League helped spawn a $25 billion industry, and continues to shape it today.

Nanook of the North(en)

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

The 11th Hour(en)

A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse

The Weirdest Weather in the Universe(en)

Horizon visits state-of-the-art laboratories and uses CGI to recreate the science-fiction-worthy weather experienced on other planets.

Forest Light(de)

Shangku Shelter(en)

Zanskar is a remote kingdom in the northwest Indian Himalaya, where local people are snow-bound for six months of the year. About 10,000 Zanskaris live in the isolated valley. In winter, mountain passes are blocked, the summer Jeep road closes and buses stop. Two decades ago, three friends founded a ski school - to enable winter travel in the valley, improve quality of life, and to encourage young people to stay in Zanskar by helping establish a culture of mountain sports. The film tells the story of this friendship, the ski school and the development of skiing in the area. Along the way a bigger question is raised. Most recently, the federal government announced a major road building project that will provide year round access to Zanskar. How can Zanskar's wilderness be preserved? It is only a matter of time before the winter road is completed, and the "Big India" rushes in.

Carts of Darkness(en)

In the picture-postcard community of North Vancouver, filmmaker Murray Siple follows men who have turned bottle-picking, their primary source of income, into the extreme sport of shopping cart racing. Enduring hardships from everyday life on the streets of Vancouver, this sub-culture depicts street life as much more than stereotypes portrayed in mainstream media. The films takes a deep look into the lives of the men who race carts, the adversity they face, and the appeal of cart racing despite the risk.

Born to Be Wild(en)

Born to Be Wild observes various orphaned jungle animals and their day-to-day behavioural interactions with the individuals who rescue them and raise them to adulthood. The film unfurls in two separate geographic spheres. Half of it takes place in the rain forests of Borneo, where celebrated primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas assists baby orangutans; the other half takes place on the arid savannahs of Kenya, where zoologist Dame Daphne Sheldrick works with baby elephant calves.

Stormchasers(en)

Track monsoons, hurricanes, blizzards, and tornadoes. Take a journey around the planet to experience our most extreme storms and to witness the dramatic--and often perilous--efforts of scientists in the pursuit of understanding weather.Join meteorologists in the cockpit of a P-3 weather plane as they penetrate the eye of a hurricane; and in the tense, decisive moments on the road as they focus their radar on an approaching tornado, traveling to the heart of severe storms to learn what makes weather systems tick. Experience the bumpy ride into the sudden and spectacular calm of a hurricane’s eye, or the commando-like raid to the very brink of a killer tornado, and experience one of the elemental joys of doing science: that of confronting nature head-on to divine its awesome secrets.

Habit(en)

There are as many paths as there are people. Some choose to be carpet salesman, others choose to be skiers. These behaviors are part of life's routine, and consciously or not, we're all slaves to it somehow. But you can't have the result without the process- you must get up to go down. Let this be your field guide to the minutia, the frivolities and of course the addiction to pure, uncut, freedom. Go ahead, scratch that itch. Because after all, we are creatures of HABIT.

Guest List(en)

Tom Wallisch and the Good Company crew return with their second full-length film, Guest List, featuring world class urban, park and backcountry skiing, all with their trademark fun style. Travel the world with Good Company as they seek out new cities, fresh pow and never been done tricks. The Guest List for this party is stacked and just getting started!

The White Search(en)

American ski film pioneer Dick Barrymore pursues the white stuff in the mountains of Colorado, France, and Lebanon. Goofy events, nail-biting bloopers, and gorgeous powder skiing ensue. Starring Jean-Claude Killy, Beth Annabel, John Burnett, and Bob Burns.

Winter Light(en)

Sunlight in a winter forest.

Here We Come A-Wassailing(en)

A documentary on the surviving syncretic pagan midwinter customs of the British Isles, focusing on nine ritual celebrations ranging from the Moray Firth in the north, the Somerset Levels in the south, Humberside in the east, and County Kerry in the west. Featuring music by the Albion Band and narration by John Tams.

Snowfall(en)

As a winter storm approaches the shallow water crystallizes, ice builds up along the edges of a stream, and the first snowflakes of the storm layer over the newly formed ice. The following morning a soft light approaches through the snow covered forest.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Closing Ceremony(en)

Closing Ceremony

Snow Warrior(en)

Snow Warrior is a love letter to the splendour of winter. It captures the beauty of a northern city through the eyes of a bicycle courier named Mariah.