Marco Tribelhorn, the art of skiing and the art for skiing

Mountains are inspiring muses, explains this Swiss filmmaker selected by the ONA Film Festival

“I’m a skier. Note well: I don’t say I’m a person who skis, but a skier. The concept is very different, it says everything about my approach to this art form. Skiing allows me to have a personal form of expression, to show how much joy and love I get from outdoor experiences, to follow a long family tradition. Thanks to skiing I can absorb the energy of the mountains: I can feel that I’m painting on a blank canvas and, at the same time, take something from this unique world and then bringing it into the normal, everyday world…”

When Marco Tribelhorn talks about skiing and mountains, he lights up in a laugh that tastes of passion, veneration, and symbiosis. Born and raised among the Swiss peaks, this skier-filmmaker-musician sees verticality as his muse: a thematic and philosophical fulcrum from which his versatile productions radiate. Productions such as “Next Stop Sneg,” the short film that will be screened at the ONA Short Film Festival.

“This film is a passion project. It all stems from the opportunity to go to Siberia, to an unknown place that for me represents a kind of eldorado. In 2019 I was invited for a ski trip to this remote area between Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia: in the middle of nowhere I experienced the best snow ever, and the whole adventure was made unique by the hospitality of some Russian friends-riders like Kostya San and Grigory Korneev. I didn’t have any filming equipment (only one analog photo camera) with me at the time, so I decided to go back to those mountains a couple of years later and recreate the impression of amazement that I had felt experiencing that spot”

Even pressed, Marco avoids giving specifics about this ski paradise, remaining faithful to a promised land dispersed in time and space, to an unspoiled legendary place. The creative Swiss tells us about his respect for a fantastic and surreal setting, recounting the hours spent between trains, late-night waits and long hikes: an itinerary in which disbelief, unknowns and desires intertwine and then explode into orgasmic freeride sessions.

“I literally didn’t know where I was, I had no phone line or geographical references. The locals try to keep this place secret, and I deeply respect that desire. Within the film I tried to narrate all these themes in an abstract way. I did not want to create a popular production, but a purely artistic one. I wanted to be honest with my work, to communicate my feelings without making them artificial or corrupting them. I always like to look for alternative ways, both in terms of my sources of inspiration and my artistic creations. I try to follow this philosophy even when I work on commission with professional skiers: after all, it’s about celebrating the love of this sport that, in my opinion, is much more than a sport…”

Besides celebrating skiing, Marco’s artistic will is encapsulated in a simple statement: “capturing the beauty of life through sounds and visions.” A vision that he pursues on the one hand with the notes of his own guitar, and on the other with visual galleries that sublimate the natural element and its contact with man: a narrative strand that also distinguishes the Venetian festival that will feature him between Sept. 8 and 10.

“Growing up in Switzerland was a gift; it allowed me to cultivate various passions. And their combination is my strength. There is a force that drives me to create things. The important thing is that each creation comes from the heart, and the observer or listener must be able to understand that. “Next Stop Sneg” is a tangible example of this desire. No one supported or funded this project, then the war came and anything related to Russia became taboo. Thanks to the ONA Film Festival I finally have the opportunity to share and show this movie, this art form. This makes me happy and makes me realize that despite everything, it was worth it.”