2009 Åre, Sweden Jon Olsson Super Sessions: two Skiers, two filmmakers, and a photographer work together for two weeks (264 hours) to compile their best five-minute edit. The world’s most prestigious freestyle skiing event–with 24 of the world’s best freeskiers and 16 of the finest ski film makers. Australian freeskier Russ Henshaw is highlighted.

Produced by Mick Jones

Crystal Gorge: Roaring Fork Valley kayakers Fred Norquist and Jake Sakson take on the Crystal River’s short, two-mile run above Marble, Colorado–4-wheel drives required. This footage is part of Forge Motion Pictures’ WildWater–a kayaking movie chronicling destinations throughout the Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon, and Ecuador.

Produced by Forge Motion Pictures

B.C. Filmmakers Derek Frankowski and Ryan Gibb are the vision behind Life Cycles, a mountain biking movie they have been shooting and editing for nearly three years. The philosophy behind the film has been to “spend time, not money… and look at what inspires people to bike.”

The filmmakers felt compelled to work with a wide selection of riders–Darren Berrecloth, Matt Hunter, Cam McCaul, Brandon Semenuk, and others. “Every rider in the movie is there for a specific reason and there is something about their riding style that we want to highlight. We want the movie to feel balanced, we don’t want too much of one aspect of riding,” says Ryan Gibb in Pinkbike.

Produced by Life Cycles

Saturday is “blowout day”: portrait of local UK rider (Rob from Plymouth, England) as part of Trunk Films Census mountain biking project–a film about the unknown riders of the UK mountain biking community.

“We’re all just grasping for the same thing… to get out on a Saturday and peddle through the forest,” Rob.

Produced by Trunk Films

Riders Lane and Miles Paxton ride trails during “Sandpoint Bike Week” in Northern Idaho.

Production by Seven.B Media

Swedish filmmakers Adam Falk and Nicke Jacobsson spend a few days documenting urbanrails in the small town of Falun. Later, a two-day “pit stop” in Funäsdalen–some of the highest peaks south of the Arctic Circle and 360 miles northwest of Stockholm.

Produced by Adam Falk and Nicke Jacobsson

Fear and rock: Austrian climbers Andrea Maruna (beginning to climb again after a serious fall) and Angelika Rainer display their unbending will to battle the mountain’s mental and physical challenges.

“I think you have to listen to what you feel yourself in your own body and that is what gives you more strength than the doctors who say, ‘No, that won’t function anymore,’” Andrea Maruna.

Produced by Sebastian Woeber

Winter road trip: photographer Luke Humphrey treks from Seattle to California, capturing images of Mono Lake and Redwood, Sequoia, Yosemite, and Death Valley National Parks.

Produced by Luke Humphrey

Freestyle history lesson with snurfer creator Sherman Poppen, and interviews with three of the sport’s seminal personalities Terry Kidwell, Jake Burton, and Terje Haakonsen–as they helped shape and evolve the current day mountain culture.

The 1980s: “Snowboarding was now a lifestyle with fluorescent outwear, rounded tail snowboard designs, and plenty of rebellious motivation…”

Produced by TTRWorldTour

The 2009 documentary “The Cove”–a film about a small Japanese fishing village (Taiji) where legal dolphin hunting still occurs–has won the Oscar for best documentary film at the 82nd Academy Awards. The Japanese government and mayor of Taiji, however, believe the movie has unfairly depicted the village’s long history and traditions of hunting the sea.

“In a statement reported by The Associated Press, the office of the mayor of Taiji defended the village’s practices and said ‘The Cove’ contained statements that were not based on science. ‘There are different food traditions within Japan and around the world,’ the statement said. ‘It is important to respect and understand regional food cultures, which are based on traditions with long histories,’” reports Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times.