Take a trek to the Backcountry Film Festival

Winter is here, which means so is the Backcountry Film Festival.

Aside from waxing skis and tuning boards, one of the ways to celebrate winter is with the eighth annual Backcountry Film Festival, a collection of seven films. The event will be presented by Snowlands Network at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at the Brunelle Performance Hall at Davis High School, 315 W. 14th St.

The films come from renowned filmmakers who search backcountry corners across the globe to submit their best work, and from grassroots filmmakers who take a video camera out on their weekend excursions and submit their best film short. The entries are reviewed by a panel of judges and the top selections are assembled into a 90-minute program.

The festival was created to highlight Winter Wildlands Alliance’s efforts to preserve and promote winter landscapes for human-powered users. From a single showing in Boise, Idaho, that first year, the festival has grown to include showings in locations throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Funds raised stay in local communities to support like-minded, human-powered recreation efforts and to raise awareness of winter management issues, avalanche training/safety and winter education programs.

This year’s program includes seven films:

* Winner of the Best of the Backcountry award, “Skiing the Void” from Sweetgrass Productions. It is a reflection on taking chances during their two-year odyssey in the Andes;

* A festival cut of “Further,” from Teton Gravity Research, brings the return of Jeremy Jones and friends to push the limits of their mountain experience under their own power;

* “Luc Mehl,” winner of the Hans Sari Scholarship and winner of this year’s Best Grassroots Film, chronicles an epic trip across the wild in Alaska Wilderness Classic;

* “A Story of Trust” is a call for climate recovery from a 9-year-old activist and the winner of this year’s Best Environmental Film;

* “Denali Experiment” is a look at a different type of expedition film from Camp4Collective;

* From Switchback Entertainment comes “Freedom Chair,” an athlete’s journey back to the slopes and his love of winter; and

* “Unicorn Sashimi” from Felt Soul Media highlights the amazing winter snowscapes of Japan.

Tickets are available in advance at Outdoor Davis, or online at www.snowlands.org, for $12 for adults and $10 for kids under 13. At the door, tickets will be $15 for adults and $10 for kids under 13.