The 66th annual Warren Miller film is premiering in Aspen at the Wheeler Opera House this weekend. “Chasing Shadows” follows groups of skiers as they travel around the world. The common theme they all share, though, is an effort to keep the history and tradition of skiing alive.
“Chasing Shadows” is a film about trying to remember the skiers who did crazy stuff on the biggest mountains, and keeping that drive to explore and experiment going.
Josh Haskins is a film producer for Warren Miller and worked extensively on the movie. He says the allure of skiing’s roots and the desire to keep making history are important concepts to instill in the films he makes.
“We feel like we rely on those generations of skiers over the years for our content and stories, and it’s important for us to tell the multigenerational story as well, as it ties into our audience demographic as well.”
Chasing Shadows was filmed on multiple continents. On a trip to Chamonix, France, the production crew met a local guy who had been skiing the mountains for decades. The two athletes in the film were skiing the same lines and putting their own spin on the sport. Josh says the people they met changed the production of the film.
“Meeting the locals there sent us in a different direction creatively than we had initially intended. There’s a character, Jamie, that the camera crew met. We decided to focus on a more retro and vintage inspired thread for that shoot.”
Josh says Warren Miller is different than other ski video companies because of the reach it has. The films aren’t all about tricks and big mountains. Sure they have some of that, but they also touch on the human element of sports. The hardest part is keeping up with the skiers.
“Staying contemporary. Keeping up with the progression of the sport. It’s happening so fast. It’s amazing what athletes are doing these days compared to previous generations.”
Josh has been making these films for 16 years. He himself is going to be witness to the changes that skiing goes through as he films athletes in their prime, whether it’s in Alaska, Europe, South America or back home in the states. It’s all part of keeping one of the longest running winter sport traditions alive.
