After 3 days of watching tons of skiing, going to parties, and not sleeping, iF3 can be quite a blur. You have memories, but can't always place the time, or even day of that memory. But, after roughly 36 hours of being mostly sober it's all starting to make sense again.
iF3 can sometimes be quite blurry
I found myself arriving in Montreal asking "What exactly am I doing here?" and I found that not only was this question irrelevant but also easy to answer. I got an invite to cover iF3, but wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do there, I'm still not entirely sure what I did. As Jason Mousseau told me upon arrival "Just do your thing." And do my thing I did, I went to awards and screenings, making sure to keep everyone who couldn't be there informed of everything on Twitter. I went to parties and talked to pretty much everyone I could see. And even though I don't remember what was said during every conversation, I do remember that each and every single person I talked to was just stoked on skiing and couldn't be happier to be where they were. Whether it was Lupe Hagearty running across the dance floor to just to say hi, or Doug Bishop having in depth talks on anything and everything, these were my people and they all understood that skiing is our common bond. And then I realized, the answer to "What exactly am I doing here?" is simply "having a good time."
Jared Martin won the Bern Best Crash Award
Jared also had to drink from a shoe thanks to Mousseau
The TGR crew celebrating their Film of the Year Award
Athletes and iF3-goers come together to watch the awards
Everyone lined up to get their all important wristbands
So what do I remember from iF3? Well luckily, thanks to TallxT Dan's thread, I was able to keep track of some things. I remember going to parties and staying up until 5am talking with fellow skiers. I remember sitting in 4bi9's hotel room talking about the previous days antics. I remember TallxT Dan going up to the awards stage and taking the award from Salomon's Freeski TV and hoisting it above his head while everyone cheered, which then cause quite a stir on the internet. I remember Doug Bishop's awesome shirt. I remember getting into a car with what I thought was some strangers, but it just turned out to be JLev and Mike Nick. I remember staying in the smallest hotel room ever with 3 other guys who are some as the most chill people I know. I remember that at no time during the weekend did I have a bad time, and that's the most important part.
Mr.Bishop and his epic shirt
TallxT Dan holds the Best Web Series Award high
This poor guy
They wanted their picture take, why would I say "no"
But the things that stand out the most, the whole reason I was there, the films. The best films crews in the world put together their best shots and put them out there for the ski world to see, and at iF3, the ski world saw and they ski world enjoyed. Before I go into depth about the films themselves, I want to touch on the atmosphere of iF3 film screenings. It's not just going to see a movie and sitting down and watching, it's fully interactive. You'll hear cheering and clapping, you'll wince with the crowd all at once when there's a huge slam, and the building will erupt when something amazing happens. Better yet, you could possibly sit down and watch the film next to the guy who made it or who was in it, and you might not even realize it, but he's just as stoked as you even though he's seen it a bunch of times already. It's not something you get at any other film festival, and it's just another thing that makes iF3 so great. So do yourself a favor, next year do what ever it takes, but don't miss iF3 2015!
This iF3 goes out to Tom Warnick
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