Fabi recalls the early days of planning the film and how the angle of positive psychology could be reflected so well through a rider like David, “David’s riding is a really positive expression of snowboarding and a very unique way of riding in itself. I knew I wanted to showcase this and his positivity.”

But the guys didn’t just want the film to be targeting the snowboard scene and rather make it into something that spoke to a broader audience as well.

“Eudemonia is not a documentary or an educational film, it should speak directly to your emotions and get a certain feeling across”

“It was like building a house, step by step. We had a foundation with David’s snowboarding and positive psychology studies, and then I started to look at different fields and aspects I wanted to talk about in an abstract way,” Fabi continues, “Eudemonia is not a documentary or an educational film, it should speak directly to your emotions and get a certain feeling across.”

Adding to the complexity of the production, were the difficulties that followed with the pandemic. “Fabi and I didn’t meet during the whole season because of Corona, so he had to direct the movie over facetime”. David recalls how he and Elmi [Elmar Bossard], the filmer, went up to the mountain, filmed stuff and showed it to Fabi who was sitting home on his sofa.

To add to the uniqueness of the film, Fabi and David worked with a wider team, bringing in Dominic Zimmerman to shoot photography, Elmar Bossard on camera and Miles Singleton who developed a stand-alone soundtrack to match the visuals.

“It was a really interesting journey and a steep learning curve,” Fabi recalls spending many late nights working together with the composer Miles, trying to find the musical language for the film. “Since I’m from the visual world, not the musical world, we had to try and find the common vocabulary to go into the details and we met at emotions. I talked to him about emotions and that was something he could translate into his music.”

“You can’t just re-define snowboarding, we still slide sideways down the hill.”

Bringing in people on the project who didn’t just work in snowboarding was another aspect David was eager to explore, “Miles is a young musician from Zurich and has nothing to do with snowboarding. He had hardly seen any snowboard movies, so he first had to watch some to get the vibe for the music. When we had our first raw cut and the first set of music, he came up to me and said ‘damn we created something really different’. This whole process of a bunch of people working in different fields and coming together and putting their creative part into it makes the whole thing pretty unique.”

However, neither of the guys want to steer the focus too far away from snowboarding. “We both come from snowboarding and still want to respect the culture,” Fabi says and continues, “It’s very important for me that the core snowboarding also appreciates this kind of a film but also that we can step a bit further outside and even show this [film] to our parents. I think my parents never got what I do and especially with street snowboarding, it’s really hard to explain…”

“At the end of the day, snowboarding is still the medium we use to showcase things. You can’t just re-define snowboarding, we still slide sideways down the hill.” David continues, “It’s not like we can completely create something new, but with the medium, we try to do it differently and I think that’s what the snowboard world needs: more diversity in basically every aspect of the community of snowboarding. It’s not like I am saying this type of snowboarding is more important than competitive snowboarding, not at all, I just think snowboarding needs more different aspects from all its different layers. And I think it’s the same for the whole world, not just snowboarding, but in every aspect of life.”

“Using snowboarding as a way of showcasing ourselves in different genres of snowboarding is what makes it so special”

Using snowboarding as a way of showcasing ourselves in different genres of snowboarding is what makes it so special. This year we’ve seen a record amount of snowboard films dropping left right and centre, however, they’ve all got their own uniqueness to them. As Fabi explains, “I feel like this season there aren’t that many films that you would say that that’s like that one, they’re all very niche in a way and I love that.”

Snowboarding isn’t about copying the person next to you, rather letting the others inspire you, and this applies to our everyday lives too, just as David says, “We all have something that makes us unique, and I think we should show that if we can.”

In the end, the project has yet again reminded the guys of why they love snowboarding so much, and how much it means to them. Eudemonia is a film with many different layers, layers that are up to the viewer to interpret based on the feelings they experience throughout the film, “This is about what you’re feeling, and that’s it” – Fabian.

If you’re heading out to Laax before the end of February, make sure to check out the Eudemonia Exhibition with still and a screen with the movie at Riders Hotel.