Farm To Table might be the chillest snowboard movie you'll watch all year. At a breezy 15 minutes, it captures what's so fun about the sport: the friends, adventure, and (not least) the hijinx.
If you're looking for perfect framing and blue skies, it's probably not your movie. Farm to Table is carefree and raw, a product of two long-time friends who wanted to portray what they like about snowboarding.
For Iikka Backstrom — who's been featured in a number of iconic snowboard films — it was a nice change of pace.
"I'd filmed with professional filmers for a long time. This was a new thing to do, and it was fun," he explained from his home in San Diego.
Backstrom made the movie with Volcom pro Curtis Ciszek.
And the two did a lot of the filming themselves. "We had a GH5 and a tripod — I'd never used a tripod in my life," said Backstrom, who described it as both challenging and rewarding.
The movie was filmed in the backcountry of Oregon, Whistler, and B.C.'s interior. From the looks of it, Backstrom and Ciszek had a terrific time, taking full advantage of last winter's epic snowfall.
Farm to Table also features a fun, unexpected soundtrack, from Young Jeezy to Tina Turner.
A standout section, which highlights Whistler backcountry, is set over Elvis's "Can't Help Falling in Love," creating a dreamy sequence that begs to be re-watched.
Backstrom was in the middle of filming when he heard the track for the first time in a while. "I was like, '...this song is so good!'" he explained.
He and Ciszek started messing around, seeing if it would work with the footage. "It was like yes — we're editing to that."
Farm to Table also features shots from a bunch of friends, like Austin Smith, Devun Walsh, and Mark McMorris.
For Ciszek, a standout feature was Terje Haakonsen, whose first trick is a 20-foot method out of a perfect-looking halfpipe.
"(Terje's) like 'I want to have some shots in there.' We're like 'alright sweet,'" said Ciszek.
Backstrom and Ciszek are involved in different projects this year, but both say they may look to do something else in the future.
The process was a "bit rogue" and wild, they said. "A lot of times it was us filming each other," explained Ciszek.
"And neither of us really knows how to film that well. So we definitely blew a lot of shots. You'd land stuff and be like 'Man, I totally didn't get that — you just jumped out of frame.' But it worked out in the end."
For Backstrom, the fly-by-the-seat nature was part of the fun.
"We never had a plan. There was pressure, but it was just us dealing with it," he said.
They had fun making it, and that's reflected in the finished product.
"I've heard a lot of people say it makes them want to go snowboarding," said Backstrom.
You can view Farm To Table for free at www.snowboarder.com/videos/farmtotable-curtis-ciszek-iikka-backstrom-movie.
