About a year ago a group of wily Canadian women started to release avant-garde social media images that included full moons and plenty of powder. These women, well known for their backcountry prowess and cunning beauty, were up to something and the snowboard world was giddy with anticipation.
Lo and behold the world was partaking in the foreshadowing that was to become Full Moon. Full Moon is a collective of badass women who are taking the bull by the horns, and are not only throwing down for the camera, but are throwing down for women’s snowboarding and the history and culture that goes along with it.
Led by the beautiful and gifted Leanne Pelosi and supported by an all star cast of notable shredders including Annie Boulanger, Hana Beaman, MFR, Helen Schettini, Jamie Anderson, and Robin Van Gyn, Full Moon is sure to be mind blowing. I had the opportunity to shoot some questions to both Leanne, the films producer and a featured rider, as well as Robin Van Gyn, one of the stars of the film, to get their perspective on brand support, crowd funding a snowboard film, and why Canadian women absolutely crush it in the backcountry.
How did this project come about, what was the motivation behind the Full Moon project?
Leanne: I quaintly mentioned it to the girls and everyone was really into it. Once the ball started rolling, we were all sitting around having tea at Annie’s house where we decided that it was a good time to get this project going. So here we are, creating a project that links us all together. We are all so hyped to be able to have the opportunity to do this. It’s a dream crew.
Robin: I had been hearing Leanne talk about doing another women’s film for a couple years, but she was always pretty busy and on top of that, the girls were all kind of doing their own thing, we were all over the place. At some point we all had a big question mark when it came to film projects and I think timing played a huge role. We were all ready to come together and Leanne was ready to make it happen.
Traditionally the snowboard film market is a male dominated segment of the industry. Have there been any challenges that come along with having an all female production?
LP: We have had quite a bit of support, at least on the emotional level. Financial it gets trickier. We haven’t had the same budgets as equivalent movies on the men’s side, but there’s an opportunity there then to look outside our industry. That’s where Kickstarter comes into play.
RVG: No need to play the “we don’t get love” female card. By doing that, it only furthers that notion. We are here doing our thing and it is what it is, some people will back us and some people won’t. A lot of women out there are stoked and so are we, that’s all that matters. At some point you have to stop giving a shit what everybody else thinks and carry on, it’s what we have always done
Are brands stepping up to the plate to support you?
LP: For the most part brands are doing what they can to support and we are extremely grateful. One thing that I think is amazing is that we have been able to collaborate with our community for our kickstarter campaign. People like Wille from Heart Coffee, T and the Sea, Lisa Fletcher Jewelry, Whistler Tourism, Jibber Jen, Jeff Pensiero, SASS and then our sponsors who have generously let us create our own Full Moon products to help the movie. The feeling of love for women’s snowboarding is at an all time high right now and it’s nice to see the excitement in the air. It’s definitely helping us feel even more motivated knowing that people out there really want to see this type of project be successful. The best feeling ever making this movie is actually seeing that our friends and followers are reaching out to support this film.
RVG: Yes for sure, there are a lot of partners who are behind us. I think when they saw the crew and the idea of the project on the table it was hard not want to get involved in.
Snowboarding films have a way of feeling homogenous because the formula really hasn’t changed in the last 20 years. We are desperately lacking good storytelling. How did you ladies decide to run with a more documentary based film as opposed to just banger after banger?
LP: We aren’t doing a full on documentary; if we were we would want to incorporate way more women into it, because there are so many snowboarders who have contributed to the progression of our sport. This film is focusing on the crew we have and who they were inspired by, essentially who was at an arms’ length from them, so it’s more about linking it up together in a cohesive way.
My mantra has been about bringing together the community in snowboarding. I think somewhere along the lines progression was at the forefront, and now people are looking back to see where we came from. There was certainly a void and we want to contribute to helping preserve our history.
RVG: I think viewers are more interested in seeing something with depth, not just shot after shot and I think that is what Leanne and the crew are trying to accomplish. It’s always going to be about snowboarding, but Full Moon is also very much about the lifestyle, the personalities, the history, and the community of snowboarding.
In the teaser you mentioned Tara Dakides a bit and talked about the history of women’s snowboarding, what other women’s snowboarding icons will be featured?
LP: We have a short list that we are working on. We’ve dug deep into the archives and found some pretty amazing pinnacle moments from the years. Tara, Barrett, Natasza, Victoria will all be represented and more as we keep working on it.
RVG: There are so many legends its actually hard to fit them all in.
What has it been like filming for this project so far? We have had some pretty dismal winters, is everyone stressing?
LP: We are all in the same boat, but we’ve taken the opportunity to travel. Ideally we’d all stay in Whistler and ride the backcountry there, but we’ve been able to head to places like Bella Coola, Mica, Golden Alpine Holidays and Alaska. We’ve been stepping out of our comfort zone to ride way bigger lines, so it’s pretty rad. I’m looking forward to hopefully having a great winter at home this season so that we can have a well rounded movie.
RVG: It’s been interesting for sure. It’s been challenging in that we are used to staying in Whistler and being so productive here in our home landscape, when you have to travel to the snow, you have to get creative and really work that much harder to figure out the terrain and the program. I think we would all like to be in BC filming in our backyard this year, it gets exhausting traveling so much and being away, it’s just better to be organized and efficient at home.
It seems like British Columbia has been producing all of the most bad ass women snowboarders over the last decade, what’s going on up there?
LP: We have the best terrain in the world. It’s a safe snowpack, there’s a lot of rolling terrain, which is just so perfect for snowboarding. The access isn’t like this anywhere else that I’ve been to in the world. Hana Beaman is our honorary Canadian, she moved as close as she can to Whistler without actually moving to Canada.
RVG: It’s in the water and we are super hydrated.
About a year ago there started to be lots of social media photos of all of your butts, was that foreshadowing for the film?
LP: No, that had nothing to do with the movie. We went on a hike snapped a funny photo and then Yobeat blew it up.
RVG: That was not supposed to happen, it was my fault for sure. I love a good laugh, and I feel like mooning is a sure fire way to get a smile out of someone. No foreshadowing, no butts, we are keeping it PG. Maybe.
What has been the biggest lesson learned so far in this process?
LP: The last few years I’ve been working on being present as much as possible and what I’ve learned is that there’s no better time for action than now. It’s easy to get in the rut of wanting to put things off and do them later. Meditation and yoga have helped me focus a little more to clear the clutter in my mental space.
RVG: I learned that Kickstarter campaigns are a good way to lose hair and to keep your nails short.
Last question, what can we do as snowboarders and snowboard fans to support women’s riding?
RVG: Go to our Kickstarter campaign and be a part of the project. By showing support, you are helping to create a community of people who just want to go out and shred, that’s what its all about.
