Legacy of the Great Aletsch Premiere

On Friday I will be hopping on a plane and flying on over to Washington D.C. My new documentary, Legacy of the Great Aletsch, which I co-directed with Nick Brandestini, is premiering at the DC Environmental Film Festival.

The Great Aletsch GlacierThe Great Aletsch GlacierThis film started shooting back in October 2007 quite suddenly. We were doing some research around the area when we met one of the film's main characters, Art Furrer, by accident. We were eating lunch in Rieder Furka when a man in a cowboy hat began introducing himself to all the diners. We recognized his face from the tourism newspaper sitting on our table. We struck up a conversation with him and the next weekend we were shooting with him in the area around the Great Aletsch Glacier. Scenes from that shoot are peppered throughout the film.

Steve and Nick shooting on the Glacier.Steve and Nick shooting on the Glacier.After that, we returned to the Valais many times to shoot interviews and film footage of the area. The bulk of the story was shot in June 2008 when we hiked from the Jungfraujoch to the Märjelen See. If you haven't hiked with 1000 meters of ice below your feet -- its a breath taking experience.

This film encompasses what I love about making documentaries: spontaneity, education, and new experiences. When we began this project, I knew nothing about the Great Aletsch Glacier. Now, the area feels like home to me. It is the same with Gruyères and the H.R. Giger Museum.

If you happen to be in the DC Area on March 16th, come check out the film. The entry is only three dollars. You can reserve your seat by following the instructions on this page.

(by the way, if you enjoyed the trailer, feel free to pass it around to friends. It is on Youtube and Vimeo.)

From the Archive: Alpine Pastures

This is a very short, verité doc that I made during my first year living in Switzerland. I was shooting web videos for the site geobeats.com at the time. While shooting at the Berggasthaus Aescher, we observed an event that happens once a year:

I am still amazed by how you can feel transported back through time in this country.

Photo Blog #11 - Bonus Jungfraujoch Edition

This weekend Karla and I went up to the Jungfraujoch with the people I work with at Viewfinder Center for Photography. Here are some pictures i took:
The Sphinx station atop the Jungfraujoch.A lone hiker in the snow.Konkordiaplatz and the Great Aletsch Glacier.

This is a helicopter.The crowd from the Sphinx station.There was a Bolllywood commercial shoot going on at the Jungfraujoch. This is surprisingly common.Close of of the Bollywood model.

Landscape with Clouds.