Words by Jeff Schmuck

The International Freeskiing Film Festival officially begins today in beautiful Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Things kick off tonight with Salomon’s highly anticipated 10 Years of 1080 Party, which will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the ski that started it all. For those of you who’ve made the trek, the party begins at 10pm tonight at La Mouche.

it all begins tonight...

Athletes, filmmakers, photographers, fans and everybody in between are arriving by the hundreds today, and IF3’s Guest Liason Phil Benjamin and his crew are awaiting the VIPs’ arrivals at Pierre Trudeau International Airport, where they will be promptly picked up and whisked away to the Hilton in the snazzy IF3-mobiles, courtesy of the good people at Volkswagen.....

Following tonight’s kick off party, things really get going tomorrow afternoon with what everyone is coming to see…the movies. Invert Productions’ Stratospheric, which was originally a part of the AM division but is now a non-competitive entry (the filmmakers didn’t want to be part of the AM division as they were hoping to be selected for Pro), will be the first movie shown, followed by two of the five AM entries (ESK Media’s Hat Trick will replace Stratospheric), Voleurz’ Outdoor Education and NSF Productions’ Why Not. The Pro films then get going SVP’s Alliance, Meathead’s Head for the Hills, Theory-3’s Journal, Tanner Hall’s Massive and Rage’s Such is life. See the schedule below for more details.

Following the first day of films, the Red Bull Tanner Hall Massive Reggae Party will be going down on Saturday night, but unfortunately, due to some visa issues, Cali P was denied entry into the United States and sent back to Europe, forcing him to cancel his performance at the party. But a reggae show wouldn’t a reggae show without music, so performing in Cali’s place will be Juno Award-winning reggae artist Mikey Dangerous.

Mikey Dangerous

Then on Saturday it’s more premieres, and by more I mean A LOT…with the remaining AM entries from ESK Media’s Hat Trick, Stept Productions’ Road to Nowhere and 4bi9 Media’s Slamina, then the Pro division’s Atomic’s Skiing Is____, Mystic Land Productions Broadcast, Ride The Planets’ Up In Snow, Field Productions’ Get Lucky, Nimbus Independent’s Hunting Yeti, Level 1 Productions’ Turbo and capped off by Poorboyz Productions’ Reasons.

Following the 18 premieres (yeah that’s right…18!), it’ll be onto the final and most likely wildest party of the weekend, the infamous and unforgettable Newschoolers Awards, hosted by John Symms and Philou Poirier, where the panel of judges' selections from the festival will be revealed to the masses. For those of you who can't make it, dont fret, as the show will be broadcasted live right here on NS, complete with a pre-show full of interviews, antics and debachaury. And to top everything off, each of the winners will be going home with an amazing trophy that puts both the Oscars and MTV Awards to shame…

HUGE props to Moment for making the awards. Just wait till you see them in person. They showed up at the office yesterday and they look amazing!

We spent the better part of today getting things ready in the gorgeous Telus Theatre, which will host the NS Awards. So here’s a little sneak preview of what to expect come Saturday night…

Then after a day of rest on Sunday (as the Carte Blanche industry meeting was recently cancelled), the ski industry will be hitting the links at the JF Cusson Golf Invitational. Last month JF asked you to film your best 3 swings, upload them to NS, so he could pick his favorites and give them invites to tournament. Sadly, we only got 5 entries (start golfing Newschoolers!), so being the great guy that JF is, instead of having one person sit it out, he’s invited all 5 to the tournament…so you’re all winners. If you haven’t already received a message from Mousseau, check your inbox for details on how you can score your VIP pass along with all your goodies.

Congrats to all five entries...now you get to golf with this guy!

Anyway, that’s enough writing for me…it’s party time! IF3 has officially begin, and for those of you who’ve made the trip, welcome to Montreal, and prepare yourselves for a weekend you’ll never forget!