A group of filmmakers renowned the world over for their artistic and stunning portrayal of snow sports and the environmental concern that permeates their stories, landed in Calgary over the weekend to use city streets as the canvas for their next project.
And if past work by Whistler-based Sherpas Cinema is any indication, the video footage shot in the gateway city to the Rockies should be an adrenaline-filled and stunning look at what happens when world-class skiers are unleashed within Cowtown's city limits.
A short YouTube video posted on Monday shows two skiers plying their craft in a Calgary alleyway at night as part of the Sherpas' upcoming film 'Into the Mind.'
The footage shows the skiers making their way down the lane as they bounce off walls, ride rails and catch some big air.
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According to Sherpas Cinema co-director Eric Crosland, 'Into the Mind' is, "meant to be an exploratory epic into the depths of human potential, with the lines blurred between dream state and reality."
But if the Sherpas' previous epic, All.I.Can, which was the top winner of the Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2011, is any indication, the Calgary scenes promise big thrills and jaw-dropping cinematography.
The urban scene in All.I.Can was a YouTube sensation, with Canadian world-class freestyle skier JP Auclair cutting a stunning and butt-clinching ride down the streets of Trail, B.C.
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According to the Globe and Mail, Auclair is also one of the skiers in the Calgary urban scenes.
Unlike most of his work in the past, where he and the gang typically go into a town without permission for their gravity-defying stunts, Auclair told the Globe and Mail, this time they had permission.
“We’re used to working on the ground, more like guerrilla-style with no permissions or anything. We usually just get kicked out of places,” he tells the Globe.
'Into the Mind' is scheduled for a fall release.