Film Screening of the Week

At 86 years young, Warren Miller has all but bowed out of the extreme-sports moviemaking game that made him famous. But even that’s not stopping the W.M. franchise from pushing on. In fact, this year finds Miller’s 61st film, Wintervention, hitting theaters across the Western United States for a series of one-night-only screenings. The film makes a stop at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre this Wednesday, December 1.

Narrated by Olympic gold medalist (and sometime MTV personality) Jonny Moseley, Wintervention takes Miller’s snow-sports flicks to the next level, showcasing skiers and boarders in 10 locations on five different continents. Among the laundry list of famous athletes included in Wintervention’s 12 segments, we get John Morrison and Kip Garre shredding untouched Antarctic snow, Moseley and Andy Mahre bombing hills in British Columbia, and Tim Dutton and Chris Booth attacking some of the largest peaks—and drops—in New Zealand. Footage ranges from the crisp, beautiful, and serene slopes of Vail and Telluride, to the exhilarating and fear-inducing wilderness of Georgia’s Greater Caucasus Range and Norway’s frozen tundra.

At its core, Wintervention is as much an extreme sports film as it is a love letter—and confessional tape—from each of its stars to the terrain and powder they can’t get enough of. “I am a skier. That’s what defines me,” says Chris Davenport from atop Alaska’s Chugach Range. “I love the adrenaline rush, and I love the excitement of being out there … the beauty of the mountains … being with friends and being in incredible locations. It is that which inspires me.” And backed by a killer indie-minded soundtrack, featuring everyone from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Devo to Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend, it’s almost impossible not to catch Davenport’s excitement. So whether you’re an avid boarder, recreational skier, or like myself, simply happy to watch from the safety of the lodge, this is one trip down the mountain you don’t want to miss.

Warren Miller’s Wintervention screens this Wednesday, December 1, at 8 p.m. at the Lobero Theatre (33 E. Canon Perdido St.). Call 963-0761 or visit lobero.com for tickets and info.