Maxime Moulin ©

Time travel

It's every freerider's dream to have a ski resort all to oneself. In the winter of 2020/21 Sam Favret has been given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and in his hometown of Chamonix (France) to boot. Accompanied by a group of friends and filmmakers he can finally realize the descents he has long envisaged.

We’ll take a look behind the scenes of “Flow” with director Maxime Moulin.

In December 2020, Sam Favret, filmmaker Maxime Moulin, and drone pilot Hensli Sage decide to seize the moment, hoping to capture some extraordinary descents. Along with photographer Fabian Bodet, they set out for the mountains of Chamonix.

Photo (left to right): Sam Favret (freerider), Johann Vienney (blue jacket, guide), Maxime Moulin (black jacket with camera, director), Fabian Bodet (photographer), Hensli Sage (drone cinematographer)

In the freeride scene Chamonix is anything but a secret spot. Every year, countless winter sports enthusiasts cavort here on and off the ski hill. But in the 2020/2021 season the resorts have been closed all winter.

We had never seen Chamonix like this before.

Maxime Moulin

Director Maxime Moulin recalls what it was like to see Chamonix from this totally new perspective.

Shooting in perfect conditions

Because all the cable cars are closed the team faces five to seven hours of walking for two, maximum three, shots. But that does not deter them. During the ascent, Sam explains to his friends in detail which line he wants to ski. He can already see it in his mind.

Sam’s creative vision helped Maxime a lot to get his lines into the frame:

We knew that we wanted to get a lot of FPV shots. But we don’t like FPV drones.

Maxime Moulin

On the very first day of shooting, it becomes abundantly clear that the danger of avalanche is extremely high. The disadvantage to the resort closure is that no one is carrying out precautionary safety measures, like avalanche control blasting. For Maxime, this means it’s impossible to find a secure location for him and his camera. That leaves only Hensli's drone for capturing Sam’s riding.

Every member of the team knew exactly what he had to do:

Drone pilot Hensli Sage probably had the most stressful assignment of all involved. He could not let the drone crash under any circumstances; it most likely would not have been possible to recover it because of the potential for an avalanche. Moreover, the shots had to be as steady as possible and without sudden changes in direction. This required meticulous planning and preparation.

But in the end it was all worth it.

Skiing the Aiguille du Midi range in that conditions – you’re never going to do that again.

Maxime Moulin

Aiguille du Midi

Follow the crew on Instagram

@maximemoulin @samfavret @henslisage @fabian_bodet