This article is part of the introductory editorial series at the ONA Short Film Festival. On September 5th, 6th and 7th, the Venetian Island of San Servolo will showcase stories of outdoor sports, nature and environmental awareness. Athleta will still be Media Partner of this wonderful event devoted to the seventh art.

“Layering Anger Disease, colloquially known as the Red Face Syndrome is a mental health disease caused by multiple nuisances,” says the ancient and ironic voices of the Dolomites. In the case of Marco Tribelhorn and the short film ‘The Red Face Zone,’ it is a narrative tool that leads the Weger brothers, internationally recognized kayakers and all-around athletes, to discover the purifying value of freeskiing and its magical adrenaline.

We had met this filmmaker, musician and skier at a recent edition of the ONA Short Film Festival, when he shared the movie ‘Next Stop Sneg‘ with the Venetian audience. This year, the multifaceted Swiss’s creativity returns to the lagoon with a production that rhymes surrealism, brotherhood and mountain metaphors.

We discover Marco Tribelhorn’s perspectives and introduce his ‘The Red Face Zone’ just days before the start of the ONA.

‘The Red Face Zone,’ can you tell us something about the genesis and meanings of this short film?

“We shot the film in the Dolomites, and in those areas they say you have to have a ‘red face’ and be somewhat angry to ski in extremely narrow and steep spots. After seeing some of my films, Matthias and Jakob reached out to me and suggested this topic, so I decided to take the opportunity. They are not actors, they are high-level kayakers and, as the film shows, freeskiers. I wanted to create spaces where it was easy for athletes like them to act. The main message of the film is definitely metaphorical and shows the healing effect of skiing, its ability to bring joy and, at the same time, help people. The film begins with the aggressive waking up of Matthias and Jakob. Their anger then escalates more and more until they find the cure in skiing. Although the short movie is extremely surreal, I wanted to draw the viewer into the story in a serious and authentic way. I wanted the viewer to be able to believe it.”

Your visual production is combined with a deep knowledge and mindful use of music. Would you tell us something about this connection and the role it plays in the big picture of your cinematic flow?

“The main soundtrack for ‘The Red Face Zone’ comes from a conceptual album produced by friends of mine a decade ago. Today their band no longer exists, but everyone is still working in the musical universe. I love working with music, thinking about how a bit, a sound or a song can create the so-called Stimmung, the perfect vibe. I used specific sounds where I wanted to use them, creating the mood and structure that I felt was correct to embrace each scene. The world of freeskiing and extreme sports has taught us that you can just put a punk-rock song on some raw actions, but I think there are many more layers to storytelling and you can build a lot more tension beyond the performance. My goal is always to translate feelings and bring the viewer into them. Bring him into a kind of world, room or action that he can, actually, feel. Sometimes I think that just showing the reality doesn’t make you feel like you saw the reality. That’s why I prefer to cut a scene that is super extreme and eye-catching, but doesn’t deliver the right emotion at the right time. I just want to be authentic, it’s quite natural for me.”

One of the biggest fil-rouge of your life is the art of skiing, what chapter do you feel you have reached in your lifelong journey with this sport?

“I’m now in a state where I can appreciate my decisions and the life skiing introduced me to. In my earlier days as skier I kinda thought that I have to achieve certain things, or that I should hang out with the right people, that I should act in a certain way to be accepted in the community. But it never felt right to do that so I started to only ski with people I appreciate and just did what felt right to me and that led me to where I am today. I have many good people around me that appreciate how I am and what I do and I enjoy skiing as much as I did 20 years ago. I am really happy that I always paid to go skiing and never got paid to do it. I’ve always managed to decide what feels right to me, achieve my own goals and set my own pace. I’m thankful that I had this opportunity and kinda still have today. I think that is a great personal achievement and I really appreciate that I still have this deep love for skiing.”

As we have already mentioned it will not be a first time for you at the ONA Short Film Festival, what emotions will you have coming back to the San Servolo Island?

“Although I have already attended ONA, for me this experience keeps on feeling surreal. I feel honored and seen as an artist. I often think of creating something that is impactful and can stand the test of time. I think it’s a human need, in some ways. And this festival makes me feel like a respected guy who creates respected stuff. It boosts my self-confidence and makes me think that someday someone will come along and ask me to work for them because they think my work is special. I don’t produce documentaries full time today, but events like ONA always give me hope for the future.”

Visit onafilmfestival.com to get more information and participate in this inspiring event.