BrOADER[view] with Olivier Pictet

Every shell doesn’t hide a pearl inside…well it’s the same with snowboard movies. But the day you open that DVD box, fit it into the player and discover a jewel, you are just carried away…
That’s the way we felt when we watched Thermos (the trailer is here).
Thermos is not your average snowboard movie where every rider gets his part and then there is the slam session too. Thermos has a deeper meaning, a spirit, a soul. Thermos is what snowboarding is about : discovery, travels, sharing memories and good times, simple fundamental values, respect of our planet earth, hope…life!

The 60 minutes long snowboard documentary, entirely filmed in 16mm, focuses on 7 riders and their adventures and vision of snowboarding, their passion and respect for the mountain.
In the mist of snowboard movies, Thermos is a breath of fresh air!

We went on our own quest to try and discover more about Thermos. We asked a few questions to the eye behind the camera, the man who managed to create the spirit of Thermos, Olivier Pictet.
Are you ready for your thermos journey? Read Olivier’s words…

Olivier, could you tell us a little bit about yourself to start…

Sure! I come from Geneva, Switzerland and I am 29 years old.
I studied cinema in Barcelona and after 4 years there doing short films and other experimental video I was missing the mountain which is
a big part of my culture.
In the movie I think you can fell I was missing that atmosphere of endless and virgin landscapes, with a powerful nature. Snowboarding
brought me there 15 years ago. That is when I first shot 3 snowboard films with my friends. For me it was the golden age of snowboarding.

Tell us about THERMOS, how did the whole project start and who is involved?

It started with Darius (Heristchian) 5 years ago. We where seeing each other more during surf trips and where always talking about an hypothetical snowboard adventure.
It finally happened when I came back of Barcelona. Darius is an incredible guy with a lot of good energy that he is spreading all around him. That is how he asked a few selected people to join us in this nomad project.

The result is a beautiful snowboard documentary with a soul. I love the authenticity and the photography. Do you feel like you managed to show on film exactly the feelings and atmosphere you were living with the riders involved?

Thank you for the comment 🙂

For me it hard to tell because I am so involved. It was very difficult to condense all that experience in 60 minutes. My first cut was almost
three hours long! The fact that I was present in all the steps from the shooting, to the editing passing by the conception of the music, helped to keep the feeling I had during the shooting of each session. What i liked is the diversity of the sessions. That is how the season looked like.

Thermos made you travel a lot, also because you were looking for that cultural aspect of snowboarding. Can you tell us more about the trips and the people you met along the way. What are you favorite memories?

The fact that thermos uses snowboarding to travel is very important for us. It enables us to meet very different people with that same passion in common. Lebanon will stay as an unforgettable discovery with people who where living the snowboard in the same way that we did here 20 years ago. It was like travelling in the past.Dino Bonelli and his snow collection lost in a small resort in Italy were both a very good surprise!

Tell us your story behind the thermos! Is hospitality and conviviality the most important things for you in snowboarding and life in general?

For me a movie is a way of touching many people and the message should not be taken too lightly. Sharing emotions is what thermos is about and a very good way to keep alive experiences and make them worthwhile. For me what you will remember about a session is never the
trick you made but more the people who where there when it happened and were encouraging you.

Are you happy about the feedback you got from people who saw THERMOS?

I am still surprised about the good feed back, seems like everybody found something they like in thermos.

What are your future projects? Will there be more thermos movies to come?

I hope thermos will help to continue, but every project starts from zero again. I would like to progress and propose something very different next time. I have to be patient and wait for the right timing.

We always ask our guests their opinion about snowBrOADER. As a filmmaker with a strong artistic sense, what do you think about our blog, its content, its design, and what it can bring to snowboarding?

I like it. It’s simple, and clear. Continue keeping interest in small projects like ours. Big up from the thermos crew!

Olivier, thanks a lot! Do you have a final shout out?

Thanks to all the riders of the movie. They got so involved in the project. I would like to remind everybody that life is shorter than we think and so it is important to live it to the max. Special big up to our photographer friend Philippe Berclaz!

BrOADER has only one advice : get yourself a copy of Thermos, find a nice big screen, lay back in that mellow couch of yours, and press play!
Thermos is an independent production and they need your support! The DVD can be bought online on the thermos website : www.thermosproductions.com.