The mountain sports industry is developing into a globalised business. And as in the Western Alps growth is falling and the number of skiers has been stagnating for several years, resorts and cities are betting on globalization. Bringing people from all over the world to pay a lot of money and enjoy the cold and the slopes, even when there isn’t snow.
In the Documentary Snow Business, the directors, two French middle-class post-war baby boomers, take a journey behind the scenes of the global skiing industry. Without nostalgia but with plenty of humor, they try to find out what has changed since they first took to the slopes. They explore the model of development now in use everywhere that slopes exist, and even where they do not, a model that is even trying to free itself from its original requirement: natural snowfall. Their quest leads them to France, Austria, Italy, and also to the Russian Caucasus, China, South Africa.. and even Belgium.
They meet visionary “snow business” entrepreneurs for whom, “our aim is to get as many people skiing as possible, all over the world.” Resort managers who demonstrate how “we throw money through the windows, but from the outside”. Marketing gurus, who tell them “we can do anything with modern techniques, even build a glacier!” Alpine set designers, who explain how to “highlight the natural” by “using virtualization, images and sound”.
Forging ahead with endless building programmes, continually developing new technology to counter the effects of climate change, transforming the mountains into theme parks for the rich. Viewed objectively, isn’t this simply a representation of the modern world, predatory capitalism trying to transform natural spaces into sources of profit? It might make you feel like putting away your skis for good, unless you’re willing to do what it takes to keep skiing going.
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ENDEVR explains the world we live in through high-class documentaries, special investigations, explainers videos and animations. We cover topics related to business, economics, geopolitics, social issues and everything in between that we think it’s interesting.