When 1,087 people pledged $113,534 to back big mountain skier Lynsey Dyer鈥檚 all-female ski film, on Kickstarter last year, the crowdfunding site became the place to show we care about women鈥檚 sports. Now those same fans will be able to back an arguably more ambitious film that seeks to capture the essence of 27 adventure sports through an all-female cast of Olympians, and both聽world聽and national champions.
鈥淭he Kickstarter is to see if people are legitimately interested,鈥 says Ottowa-based filmmaker Dave McMahon.聽It鈥檚 a passion project, and he and his partner, Lise Meloche, have spent more than two years and $200,000 to shoot an IMAX-quality digital film with grand cinematic shots of women athletes. 鈥淭he Kickstarter money will be used as part of a wider campaign to promote women鈥檚 participation in outdoor sports,鈥 McMahon says. 鈥淭hat includes getting the film in theatres, and putting on sports clinics where we can show the movie.鈥
Like Dyer, McMahon and Meloche note, a lot of聽young women don鈥檛 continue with sports when they get to their teens. 鈥淢y daughter, who鈥檚 now 25, came up through a competitive cross-country ski program and we saw that 90 percent of the girls were quitting after 16,鈥 McMahon says. 鈥淲e wanted to show that you can be 30-something, have a job, a family, a career, education, and be successful at athletics.鈥
The resulting 90-minute movie, , is more art聽house film than sports porn or documentary. It聽features聽vintage footage聽juxtaposed against modern footage of 77 elite athletes, including Canadian cycling champion and anesthesiologist, Dr. Veronique Fortin, and Canadian ultrarunning champ and podiatrist, Dr. Annie Jean. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want 19-year old prodigies,鈥 McMahon says. 鈥淲e wanted athletes who are busy, who have other jobs and lives and are trying to find some balance.鈥
Canadian Forces engineer and cross-country runner C.J. Best narrates the film鈥攍ightly. 鈥淭here鈥檚 elegance, there鈥檚 beauty, and an undertone of empowerment, but it鈥檚 really not in your face,鈥 McMahon says. Think gorgeous footage of women running a track workout with beautiful technique fading into a scene of those women running with their kids. 鈥淲e want people to come away and make up their own mind as to what it means鈥攚ithout thinking too hard. We want them to come away being inspired.鈥
Perhaps no pair was more suited to tackle such an ambitious film than McMahon and Meloche. Meloche, 55, is a two-time Olympic biathlete, seven-time world cup medalist in biathlon, a sprint kayaker, and trail runner. McMahon, 51, was once ranked third in the world for summer biathlon, was a professional figure skater, has represented Canada in snowshoeing, biathlon, and cross-country skiing, and is a four-time eastern Canadian Mountain running Champion. The two run , Canada鈥檚 largest cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and trail running club with more than 1,000 members. In short, they have a deep understanding of the sports they filmed in Oxygen, and of the evolving portrayal of female athletes in popular culture. On top of all that, they鈥檝e been shooting sports films, though largely instructional, for the past 30 years. Oxygen promises to be their chef d鈥檕euvre.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been involved in a number of campaigns discussing gender equality in sport, whether that鈥檚 , or ,鈥 McMahon says. 鈥淭his is our contribution.鈥