Surfing Frozen Oceans

By advertising nature based recreation, companies associated with the winter sport industry are inherently reliant on re-inscribing a dualistic nature/culture opposition. While nature is advertised as something ‘out there’, the practise of nature based recreation, offered by skiing resorts, is exercised in fully regulated human made spaces. By turning an infrastructural lens on the high alpine region, the practical ontologies of human and nonhuman co-creation are examined. While the practise of nature based recreation has positive effects on the environmental attitudes of practitioners, the ecological irony of winter sports tourism is stretched. Produced in collaboration with: FRØ Studio, Basecamp Boardshop, Gletscherbahnen Kaprun A.G., Hartwegers Skischool.

Directed by Marcel El-Metwally, Surfing Frozen Oceans leans on a strong ensemble — Tim Berkhout, Vivi Berkhout, Nico Bry — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2022.