SAT. SEPT. 24, 2016 – 9.30 PM

Austria, 2014, 110 min

Directed by Gerald Salmina, Tom Dauer

CAST:  Aksel Lund Svindal, Erik Guay, Max Franz, Hannes Reichelt, Yuri Danilochkin, Marcel Hirscher, Hans Grugger, Daniel Albrecht and others.

Narrated by Daron Rahlves and Didier Cuche.  

The fairy-tale Tyrolean town of Kitzbühel buzzes with energy as the 2013 Hahnenkamm Races end with a boisterous party. And for good reason: nowhere else are the elite World Cup skiers so happy to have gotten through a race in one piece. They see Hahnenkamm Mountain’s downhill course, the Streif, as the ultimate challenge, which can be mastered only with perfect technique and extraordinary courage.

As the ski racers leave Kitzbühel for the next World Cup location, the members of the Kitzbüheler Ski Club (KSC) are already starting preparations for the following year’s race. “STREIF – One Hell of a Ride” documents this work – both the spectacular achievements and the unsung efforts – over the course of one year. At the same time, the film follows five international athletes – Aksel Lund Svindal, Max Franz, Hannes Reichelt, Erik Guay and Yuri Danilochkin – at home in their native countries, during their summer training and in their free time. As the 2014 Hahnenkamm approaches, these two narratives become more and more interwoven, interspersed with stories from the event’s past, until the athletes arrive back in Kitzbühel…

The tension rises by the minute during race week. Unseasonably warm weather has already been causing sleepless nights for the organizers, and up to the last moment they are still doubtful as to how – even whether – the iconic downhill contest will take place. And the drama only intensifies. Frontrunner Erik Guay is injured before the  training session. Young charger Max Franz discovers that he still has a lot to learn on the Streif. Superstar Aksel Lund Svindal is confident that victory is finally within his reach – but that confidence may be premature. And Hannes Reichelt surprises his fans with a perfect run, only to discover that the unforgiving course has left him far from unscathed.

(Source: Red Bull Media)

ROMY Winner 2015 in the category “Best Documentary”.

 

This movie is proudly sponsored by the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles and the German Program in the School of Language, Culture and Society at Oregon State University.