Winter Olympic flagbearer Finn Bilous will debut his new film The Antidote in Wānaka next month, paying tribute to his “pretty damn incredible” backyard. The title of the film refers to the role that Bilous’ hometown of Wānaka and its back country plays in providing respite from the chaos of chasing snow across the northern hemisphere. “The film is essentially about the last 15 years of my life, and it explores the duality of being a kid from Wānaka with a connection to this place, that has then gone on to have this very different lifestyle overseas,” Bilous said. “My lifestyle overseas feels very chaotic and busy; I get a lot of amazing opportunities, but it’s always a scramble through those months of the year. “Coming back to Wānaka, as I’ve gotten older, has become more and more of a time to exhale, and an antidote to that fast-paced lifestyle.” [Missing Credit]Finn Bilous skis down the face of a mountain in Wanaka's backcountry. Photo: Troy Tanner Filmed over the course of a year in partnership with fellow Mount Aspiring College alumnus Hunter Paul, The Antitote highlights both Wānaka’s back country, and the lifestyle of a professional skier chasing winter between the northern and southern hemispheres. “The storyline is built around Wānaka and the amazing access that we have to the environment and locations around here, and the end segment is shot between Japan, Canada and Alaska. “It’s kind of a way of highlighting where we’re from, and then also showcasing what we do for those other six, seven months of the year when I am overseas. “To be able to bring that back home and premiere it here is the ultimate,” Bilous said. In the film, Wānaka serves as a remedy for the chaos of winter in the northern hemisphere, but the freedom of the creative process has also served as an antidote for the proscriptive nature of competitive sport. “Like most kids that grow up in Wānaka, you get into the mountains and start progressing your riding through chasing around your friends or your siblings and then that progresses into that competitive structure.” Bilous excelled in competitive freestyle skiing, representing New Zealand at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in 2018 and Beijing in 2022, before joining the Freeride World Tour in 2023, but in the past few years, he’s been spending more time in the back country. [Missing Credit]Flag bearers Finn Bilous (left) and Alice Robinson lead the New Zealand team during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Photo: Getty Images “There’s a certain level of creative freedom that you lose when you’re chasing a competition structure. “You’re bound to someone else’s schedule of the year, and things are set in stone regardless of the snow conditions or how far away an event might be. “In the last few years I’ve transitioned into back-country riding, and that’s where the filming aspect of skiing really has this allure,” he said. Bilous said that ski films came about in one of two ways; skiers couldbe hired as talent to work within the creative idea of a business or brand, or skiers could produce and execute the film themselves, looking for businesses and brands to fund the project. In producing The Antidote himself, Bilous had full control of the project, but with a much bigger administrative burden than if he was hired help. “Putting a film together yourself is quite different than just partnering with a production company, because you’re the one actually getting the budget, making sure that you’re in the place at the right time, and you’ve got to perform at the end of the day.” “With that, though, you gain a different level of authenticity and connection to the person in the film, because it’s usually a more authentic way of storytelling.” Bilous’s film will debut in Wānaka, with screenings in Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland before heading to to the northern hemisphere in mid-October and screening at European film festivals. For Bilous, giving Wānaka first look is a full-circle moment and a way of showing gratitude to the community that raised him. “The film is a representation of what it’s been like for me to grow up in a place like this and there’s been a lot of key players in this community that I think wouldn’t realise how much of a role they’ve played. “Growing up here in Wānaka, we used to have a lot of premieres when I was younger and that played a big role in inspiring me to want to live that sort of lifestyle. “I hope that the people that come to watch the film get the sense of that and hopefully get inspired to explore our backyard because it’s pretty damn incredible, in my opinion.” The Antidote will debut at Lake Wānaka Centre on September 4 at 7pm, with a screening at the Freeski Film Night at Queenstown Memorial Centre on September 12 at 7.30pm. ruairi.oshea@alliedmedia.co.nz
