Homegrown Film Festival to be held at The Argyros
BY DANA DUGAN
One thing the Sun Valley area has in spades is great athletes. It also—not surprisingly—has filmmakers who follow those athletes. In some cases, they are one and the same, which gives the Homegrown Film Festival its authenticity.
The Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center, with title sponsor Black Diamond Equipment, will present the Homegrown Film Festival, to benefit the Sawtooth Avalanche Center and celebrate the best of those Valley-based athletes and filmmakers. The second annual festival will take place at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum, at 6 p.m., Friday, Jan. 4. The screening will begin at 7 p.m.
Professional skier McKenna Peterson will act as the mistress of ceremonies and awards. She will also be one of the featured athletes, along with her brother, filmmaker Axel Peterson; Spencer Cordovano, Wyatt Caldwell and Yancy Caldwell, of Stellar Media; Karl Fostvedt, the king of Corbet’s Couloir; and Jasper Newton.
Also featured will be Olympian Chase Josey, and pro skiers Lexi duPont, Banks Gilberti and Jake Strassman. As well, there will be scenes of major Idaho whitewater with Andrew Dunning; global mountain culture and split-boarding perspective with Rafael Pease; and much more action with Joe St. Onge, Collin Collins, Wing Tai Barrymore and Colter Brehmer. And the remarkable Charley French will make an appearance. A longtime Valley resident and skier, French continues to crush the 90-and-over category in the Nordic World Championship races.
Homegrown will be held in memory of Bryce Newcomb, a professional skier raised in the Wood River Valley, who was killed last year after a fall off a collapsing cornice.
Honoring Newcomb was an easy choice for the skiing community, as he is deeply missed by his many friends and family.
The poster, designed by Jack Weekes, is the Big Fattie Couloir in the Sawtooth Mountains. A limited edition of 50 original hand-pulled serigraphs by the artist will be available for sale at the event and afterwards at Blue Heron Framing in Hailey.
Tickets—$15 for Blaine County students and $20 for adults—are available at Backwoods Mountain Sports and The Elephant’s Perch in Ketchum, Sturtevants in Hailey, and through theargyros.org.
Raffle tickets, for $10, for a Sun Valley Company season ski pass, will also be sold and awarded that evening. Beverages will be provided by Sawtooth Brewery and Atkinsons’ Markets.
Everyone is invited to become a Friend of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center. For more information, call The Friends at (208) 720-3242.