He grew up in the middle of a field in the small city of Nummela in southern Finland. He loved cross-country skiing in the winters and track and field sports in the summers. He was an average Finnish kid living his childhood, but he didn’t expect that in a few years he would be making cool freeski movies. His name is Lasse Nevantausta and he made the Roots freeski movie.

The freeski movie Roots was released just a few days ago. We watched the trailer and became interested in interviewing the director Lasse Nevantausta who also lives here in Finland. After a couple of emails the interview was confirmed. So who is Lasse Nevantausta, and what is it like being a freeski movie director?

From cross country skiing to alpine skiing and the ski movie industry

Lasse Nevantausta discovered alpine skiing pretty late at the age of 13 years old. Before that he had done only cross-country skiing, but just like many other Finnish kids he finally found himself skiing the slopes.

“I started skiing when I was 13 years old, but I immediately fell in love with the sport. I wanted to take skiing seriously, but after years of jumping and a number of injuries I decided to focus on freeskiing and forget the races“, says Lasse Nevantausta.

Several years went by and Lasse developed as a skier. As he put aside his racing goals, the artistic side of Lasse Nevantausta flourished. At the 2005 SkiExpo fair in Finland, Lasse, Oskari Raitanen, Iisko Heiskanen, Risto Korhonen and few other new school skiers decided to make a ski movie. So far Lasse has directed three freeski movies, and a fourth one is currently on the drawing board. One can see that Lasse is a man of action. Releasing a complete movie once a year requires hard work.

“I have no leisure time in the winter, but in summer time I go mountain biking, swimming and playing frisbeegolf. You know, all that same stuff other kids do with messy hair and muddy knees“.

If you have watched ski movies such as those made by TGR, Poor Boyz Productions and Warren Miller, you might wonder what the driving force behind making these movies is. Where does Lasse Nevantausta’s motivation and enthusiasm come from?

“I don’t really look for motivation, because skiing the mountains is already so motivating and close to my heart. The driving force probably comes from seeing the concrete results and going over my abilities year after year“.

Propaganda by Poor Boyz Productions triggered the director in Lasse Nevantausta

How did it all start?

“I think the first ski movie I saw was Propaganda by Poor Boyz Productions. It contained such mind-blowing imagery that I got interested. Especially I got interested after appearing myself in a few Finnish ski films. I always thought what I would do different. This is a great way to express my viewpoint on skiing“.

Propaganda was a progressive and perhaps revolutionary ski film back in 2001. Propaganda was one of the first Poor Boyz Productions ski movies, but it contained big names such as Jon Olsson, Eric Pollard, CR Johnson and Tanner Hall. Propaganda contains many record-breaking tricks and lots of air. It is no wonder why Propaganda triggered Lasse’s desire to direct his own ski films.

As a ski film director Lasse Nevantausta must have a vision of the future of ski films. We asked Lasse how he sees the future of ski films and where the industry is going.

“I consider the future of ski films bright. We are going more and more towards an Internet-oriented world where people buy and download ski movies from online shops. People will purchase fewer physical DVD’s, and producers will provide more downloadable movies. I have believed in this since I started shooting ski films. The first two movies are completely free, but Roots is the first one for which we charge 5 euros per download“.

Lasse is on the right path. It is obvious that DVD format will disappear one day and digital distribution will dominate the industry. For producers this means that new business models have to be figured out. Not many people spend months filming for free, so it is natural that the film crew aims to make a living out of filming.

“This year our customers get even more value for the 5 euro price. After downloading you can print out the graphics and burn the movie on DVD. This way it looks like a traditional ski DVD“.

That makes sense. Asking 5 euros for a quality freeski DVD is not much, and, what’s best, the customer can get it in couple of minutes! No waiting until the DVD is shipped between continents. Quick delivery is one of the best things in digital distribution.

What does Lasse Nevantausta think about other players in the ski movie industry?

I am a big fan of TGR movies and big mountain skiing. I love watching Seth Morrison charging BC and AK. I wanted to know what Lasse thinks about other players such as TGR and Poor Boyz Productions in the ski movie industry.

“TGR movies are a bit too long and epic for my taste. I prefer more action and fast changes which you can see much in Poor Boyz Productions movies. Unfortunately I’m not familiar with Warren Miller movies, but I would say the very best movie I have seen is Believe by Tanner Hall, although it’s also a bit epic. It is simply so well done, and there are amazing amounts of snow“.

This is exactly what I expected from a director of freeski movies, but how about big mountain skiing?

“Personally I don’t get much kicks from big mountain ski films because I would be dead scared skiing such mountains. I prefer more not-so-serious-skiing, you know. Anyhow, I give a lot of respect to those who ski big mountains. Powder skiing is yet another thing. Once you touch powder, you love it till the end of your life“.

There is the audience for all these types of ski movies. One loves big mountain riding, while another is keen on parks and pipes and so on. This is a matter of taste and personal interest.

We as HomeboySki authors know many professional photographers. Many of them are fashion or art photographers as well. Shooting only ski pictures is not enough. We wanted to know what Lasse anticipates from his future, and what his biggest challenges as a ski movie director will be.

“Well, I would like to become a respected director who wouldn’t always need to describe the whole background story. You know, describing who I am, what I do, etc. When skiers come to talk to me, then I know it’s going in the right direction. Of course I would also like to make better films than ever before and develop with filming and editing“.

I hope you will make it one day. We Finnish skiers would be damn proud of having a widely known and respected ski movie director coming from our home country.

Being a ski film director must be pretty interesting work, or should I say lifestyle? As a director you go skiing with pro skiers dozens of days every year. You travel a lot and explore new places to ski. It must be fascinating, or what do you think Lasse?

“Naming the single best thing in this lifestyle is not easy. I love making new friends, travelling, finding filming spots, finding good music, seeing skiers giving their best. They all form great memories. Anyhow, naming the single worst thing is easy, and it’s finding royalty-free music. We spend hundreds of hours finding music every year“.

Roots freeski movie - The first real Finnish ski movie

Roots freeski movie was released just few days ago. I watched the trailer and got really interested. It looks like a “big world” ski movie with good riders, lots of air, very nice camera work and angles, and damn good music. Lasse, why people should see Roots freeski movie?

“Roots freeski movie is the first quality ski movie made in Finland. Riders and tricks are world-class, and it’s no longer Finns riding in Finland, but international riders riding in various European ski resorts. There are big drops, huge backcountry jumps and beautiful landscapes. We’ve got riders like Andi Ambühl (Armada Europe team rider), Patrick Hollaus (Line Europe team riders), Roy Kittler (Dynastar and Nike team rider), and many other interesting and skillful riders“.

Man, that sounds good! It’s absolutely great to see Finns producing a world-class ski movie . Lasse, could you describe some of the highlights of Roots freeski movie?

“Well, there are many of them, but for example the huge drops of Klaus Finne and Christoffer Gjerden are pretty cool. Also the Switch Double Rodeo (double backflip) and huge backcountry frontflip done by Matti Räty are awesome. It’s also cool to see the unbelievable style of AJ Kemppainen as well as the awesome rail skills of Oskari Raitanen“.

As I have already seen your movie, I must say Finne’s and Gjerden’s drops were absolutely cool. As a big mountain riding fanboy, I really liked Räty’s backcountry frontflip. Anyhow, there are loads of great moments in Roots freeski movie. I strongly recommend watching it.

Shooting a freeski movie like Roots must be a helluva big job. Lasse, how much time did you spend working with the film and how big a team did you have working with you?

“Filming took four months for two men to complete, but in addition to that I spent two months filming rails in Finland. Editing and other “homework” was done by five persons. Two people took care of marketing and two took care of graphics, while I was responsible for editing and music“.

It’s a bit surprising to me that there are so many people working on the movie. I expected Root freeski movie to be more like a one-man show. Anyhow, I can see that making Roots ski movie was not a quick, easy job. In fact it sounds like running a small start-up company with a number of challenges and evolving market situations. What were the biggest challenges in making Roots freeski movie?

“The biggest challenge was keeping the group together. There are already so many people related to the project that it takes lots of effort to lead and guide the group. Another big challenge was to help people find their ways to filming locations. Also finding new filming locations was not that easy either“.

Sounds like you might have had a headache sometimes. Running a project like Roots ski movie must be challenging, but rewarding. I can imagine how good it feels to finally release the movie. Now you can kick back and enjoy the well-earned break. Knowing creative people like you, Lasse, I believe you won’t take too long a break, because you have the desire to start creating your next, even better ski movie. Anyhow, it’s great to do something you really love.

Lasse, it has been interesting to discuss skiing with you. Before ending this interview, I would like to ask you a different question. What would you do if you were broke and you had no legs?

“Well.. about a year ago I broke my hip. I spent three months walking with crutches and I wasn’t able to work. Basically I was broke, although I had enough money to enjoy beer and sunlight. Naturally I spent my days thinking about my next project and what would happen in a few months… So, something really interesting finally happened. You can read more at www.skimovieroots.com!”

Thanks Lasse! It was great talking with you. I wish you all the best and lots of success with your Roots freeski movie project. See you soon on the slopes!

Please note that you can read more about Roots freeski movie project in www.skimovieroots.com. Downloading the whole movie with DVD graphics costs only 5 euros!