Pretty Faces: The World Premiere

Boulder, Colo. – Last night, Colorado’s 850-seat Boulder Theater was standing-room only. Skiers—from famous names to everyday shredders—arrived from far-flung locales in anticipation of the world premiere of Lynsey Dyer’s all-women’s ski film, Pretty Faces: The Story of a Skier Girl. And the verdict is out: the one-hour flick is well-shot, beautifully edited, and topped off with a great soundtrack and athlete interviews. It is lighthearted, but filled with impressive and inspiring action.

The Story of a Skier Girl follows the usual ski movie formula: from park scenes and helicopters to mountaineering and Alaska shots. But everything about it is refreshing, fun and captivating, just like skiing should be. And, importantly, it illuminates female skiers who haven’t been included by traditional movie houses or benefitted from high-level sponsor promotion. Ultimately, Pretty Faces set out to break convention and did it well.

Throughout the film, Elyse Saugstad, Rachael Burks and Lynsey Dyer shred big lines and stomp airs all over North America. Nadia Samer and Suz Graham share BASE, ski-BASE, snowmachine-hucks and cliff-drop footage from British Columbia to Asia. And some segments, including those with pro skiers and little kids alike, reminded me that not everything clip needs to be the gnarliest line to be fun to ski and watch. The movie returns, over and over again, to the idea that skiing is simply wonderful and silly.

“It’s the first step in showing the larger ski industry that it is not functioning within a modern paradigm in skiing,” said Louise Lintilhac, one of the stars of the East Coast segment shot in Quebec’s Chic Choc range and New Hampshire’s White Mountains. “People want female role models in skiing, and to watch women shred. Women are here to stay.”

“I think what’s been cool about this project is how many women in the industry have come together,” said Allie Rood, Pretty Faces’ assistant editor and producer. “We’re not the first of our kind, making a girls’ ski movie, but I hope that we are part of a force that will now continue with women being more influential in all aspects of skiing and ski media: filming, editing, producing, writing, as opposed to being just a one-and-done project.”

And if the ski industry is still wondering whether or not there’s a market for high-level women’s skiing films, the answer, after attending this premiere, is a resounding “yes.” The reception was thunderous, and the audience, from college guys to shrieking little girls, wanted more.

To find out more about the movie tour or to buy the movie (and swag with unicorns and rainbows), visit unicornpicnic.com.