Cancelled in 2020, the High Five Festival returns this year to Annecy from October 1 to 3. While we wait to find out the 2021 prize list, let's take a look at the films that have made history since 2010.
Keep it real / Jeremy Pancras
At the last High Five Festival in 2019, the film "Keep it real" by freestyle skier Jérémy Pancras was awarded the "Coup de coeur du jury" prize. This XXL-cast production (Henrik Harlaut, Victor Daviet, Hugo Laugier, Coline Ballet-Baz, Jacob Wester and Jake Carney) showcases freeskiing culture between street, backcountry and freeride sessions, while also mixing in some skateboarding and surfing footage. Beyond these riding moments, the French skier (who fractured vertebrae on the Sosh Big Air at the High Five Festival in 2017) also sought to show with this production "what's behind the image of pro skiers and what their life is like when they're not on their spatulas".
The Way I See It / MSP
Born under the name iF3 (as a French offshoot of the Festival International du Film de Freeski de Montréal, itself created in 2007), the High Five Festival has been flying on its own wings since 2014. But since 2010, the festival has been marked by productions such as "The Way I See It". Winner of the Best Film award at the first edition, this little gem from Matchstick Productions (MSP) takes us to some of the most remote spots on the freeride planet, in the footsteps of Henrik Windstedt, Bobby Brown, Colby West, Richard Permin, Gus Kenworthy and Sean Pettit. Already an award-winner at the Canadian edition of iF3, "The Way I See It" is also the film of the year at Annecy. A production that doesn't look a day over its 10th birthday when you watch it again (see the film in full below).
Zabardast / Picture and Almo Film
Presented in 2018 at the High Five Festival, the film Zabardast has multiplied the awards in the various festivals where it was presented that year and in 2019. It must be said that it is a real adventure in which we embark on eight skiers, snowboarders and high mountain guides on the peaks of Pakistan and more particularly the northern tower of the Biacherahi (about 5880 m) in the heart of the Karakoram massif. Riding on this shark fin shaped mountain was a world first achieved by this expedition of very talented riders (Jérôme Tanon, Thomas Delfino, Hélias Millerioux, Léo Taillefer, Pierre Frechou, Julien Nadiras, Yannick Graziani and Zak Mills). On Youtube, the full video of the film (which you can see below) has over 4 million views. Another award for this production to watch again urgently.
One Of Those Days 2 / Candide Thovex
From now on, every production unveiled by Candide Thovex is an event. The French freeskier speaks very little and hardly ever communicates on social networks. So when he unveils a major production like "One Of Those Days 2" in 2014 at the High Five Festival, there's a buzz among the public. And the result lived up to the reputation of the La Clusaz rider, who once again delivered a perfectly produced short video (5 minutes) and, above all, a stratospheric level of skiing. Six years on, One Of Those Days 2 is as stunning as ever, racking up no less than 27 million views. One of the few ski productions to reach a much wider audience than the discipline's core fans.