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Review from Level 1’s NYC Tour Stop on October 8, 2025
As the ski media season descends on New York City every October, I raced from Ski Utah’s annual press event straight to one of Level 1’s final film stops on its 2025 Freeski Film Tour in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. I went from being the youngest person at an event to feeling like I was actually among my people, with the Level 1 venue packed with Millennial and Gen Z bros. I don’t think there was one person over the age of 40 in the NYC nightclub, except for an athlete’s parents. I’d never been to a Level 1 film tour stop before, but I was excited for what felt like the true start of the ski season hype.
Something I love about multi-film ski tours is that you feel like you get to experience so much in such a short time. Level 1 did not disappoint, offering eight unique films for the evening that highlighted the latest and greatest from the freestyle skiing community.
RIKKA – Colby Stevenson, Addison Rafford, Joona Kangas, Masaori Fujii, & Zoë Blewett
The short film that kicked off the night was a stereotypical ski film, set in Japan in all the right ways. Deep powder. Incredible tree skiing. Bright neon lights in the big city. Snow fences. Crashes. More powder.
This polished ski edit is the reason why Japan is a bucket list ski destination, and Colby Stevenson and his crew made me envious that I have yet to experience it. As the film flowed through Japan, we saw the best tricks these five athletes had to throw down, yet my favorite part of the film came from the snow fence scene near the end. I think the reason I love seeing people ski off snow fences so much is that I can actually (in my mind) picture myself doing it. When it comes to the tricks on display, I’m still trying to process those.
Seasons – Mat Dufresne
I really struggled to find any information on this film after the screening, but I thoroughly enjoyed this Montreal street ski piece. A simple film made by a team of two, the piece does a great job showcasing why the hilly city of Montreal is such an amazing street skiing city. From long (I mean really long) stair rails to technical tricks off houses across many of the residential areas in the city, Dufresne did a great job utilizing the natural hills of the area for his tricks. The film was the perfect length, never dragging on to the point where the crowd got bored with what they were seeing.
endorphin – Manon Loschi
The part I loved the most about this film was the build-up. From a skiing perspective, the film starts with the 23-year-old French freeskier Manon Loschi throwing down simple, graceful tricks with aesthetic yet straightforward backdrops. The cinematography and editing hook you in right from the get-go, making the film the most tasteful in the Level 1 lineup for these aspects. But then, after a while, you wonder if that is all the film has. Yet right when you think that, Manon ratchets up the skiing to 100, as we cut to crazy ski lines in Alaska, breathtaking deep powder in Japan, and double backflips out of nowhere that got the crowd rowdy. Endorphin wasn’t just a ski edit; it was a film that built a compelling story arc without relying on verbal storytelling. For that reason, I was a big fan.
Seeing Flowers – Jonah Williams
This film was another straightforward, stunning piece out of the Utah ski scene. Deep powder, mind-bending tricks, your odd wipeout, followed by some spring skiing at Palisades Tahoe. Sounds like the perfect ski season to me. My favorite scene in the film was what I can only assume were British Columbia pillows. That section flowed so effortlessly, similar to Williams, as he glided off pillows into waist-deep powder in the untouched wilderness.
The name of the film rings true throughout this edit, as we get random cuts to various shots of flowers, although I felt like I needed a second watch to grasp the connection and meaning behind it fully.
Full Pull – The Runge
The Runge brought some anarchy to the Level 1 film tour and got the crowd back to life. Flying in from Utah and staying at an Airbnb in Newark was all I needed to hear to know that these boys were committed to their craft. The most brutal crashes of the night were intercut with urban street skiing that makes use of mundane buildings. They didn’t get creative with the locations, but instead left all the creativity to their tricks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone do what I can only describe as a “knee rail grind on a horizontal wood pole suspended 20 feet in the air.” Simply crazy. I also loved the number of tricks shot at night. It really added to the chaos and skill showcased throughout the film.
This, combined with the leaning into a stereotypical “Boys will be boys” notion, saw The Runge flipping cars, putting a couch on skis, skiing down a bowling alley, and ending the film by blowing up the aforementioned flipped car. Full Pull literally went out with a bang.
PHANTOM – Colby Stevenson
Colby Stevenson made his second appearance of the night with his film PHANTOM. Similar to his first film in the tour, this piece showcased Stevenson’s seemingly natural talent and grace, but this time in North America. Throwing down huge tricks in low-angle backcountry terrain showcases how even the best of the best can make what would otherwise seem like mundane ski terrain interesting. But then we go up to Alaska to witness some jaw-dropping heli-ski lines with incredible aerial cinematography that remind us why Alaska is every pro skier’s favorite playground.
Forrever – Joona Sipola
Filmed over the course of two years, Joona Sipola and his crew did an impeccable job showing the unique aspects of street skiing in Helsinki. The film opens with a crazy drop down a hockey arena that could have gone wrong in so many ways. Throughout the piece, we see a solid mix of urban skiing and urban park skiing, with the biggest differentiator compared to other films being the number of tricks that utilize rooftops in one way or another. I enjoyed this film, but the lack of dialogue, comedic breaks, and transition scenes made it feel like it started to drag towards the end of its roughly 20-minute runtime. The skiing was great, but the crowd’s restlessness and chatter eventually started to numb the viewers, who were witnessing the skill on screen.
CALI RAMBO – BOOM CLUB
The Boom Club brought the energy to the screening before the film even began for their inaugural full-length ski film. Flying to New York City from Utah, the whole Boom Club ran up on stage, throwing free t-shirts, hats, and more to the audience while getting people fired up for the final screening of the night. Another classic “boys will be boys” edit, CALI RAMBO, features a non-stop, high-intensity montage of great on and off-piste freeride skiing, street skiing, fireworks, fire, shaving heads, and road tripping across various locations in North America and Europe.
The pacing felt off, and at several points, it seemed like we were on the verge of a conclusion, only to be thrown off by a weird scene. Some examples include when the BOOM CLUB bets all their money on a cock fighting match to fund their ski careers, and when we cut to a stunning ski line with a massive waterfall along a cliffside.
With that being said, it was a very memorable film that brings the goofiness and fun to skiing that so many of us forget to have. It reminds us that many of us have been drawn to the sport for the freedom and kid-like feeling of running loose in the mountains that the sport has. For that, it was a great way to end the night.
Final Thoughts
While many may aptly view Hollywood and filmmaking as currently in an unrecoverable decline, the ski film scene is a unique niche that continues to evolve and adapt to the media landscape around it. Sure, funding for ski films and finding sponsors is harder to get than ever before, but with that comes a new wave of skiers and filmmakers that are more scrappy, outside the box, and raw. The films on display at Level 1’s Freeski Film Tour exemplified this more than any other ski film tour in North America, reminding us that with enough grit and determination, anyone can still make it in skiing.
