Tom Dauer

A downhill run is two minutes of skiing at the limit, a feat of strength between triumph and tragedy. The risk of a fall or serious injury is always present. The thrill prevails and is almost addictive, regardless of all the side effects.

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

Follows six athletes in the pinnacle of skiing as they go about their extraordinary daily lives including serious injuries, lifelong friendships and record-breaking achievements.

"The Dachstein, 2,995 m high and exactly on the border between Styria and Upper Austria - and thus the highest mountain of both federal states. The documentary presents this natural beauty in overwhelming pictures. The mountain guide Heli Putz, who grew up on the Simony hut, crosses the mountains with different mountain partners and in different disciplines. As varied as the mountains themselves. The documentary stages the beauty of nature in overwhelming images."

People experience adventures on mountains all around the world. Personalities, fascinated by the world of the mountains, bring us closer to the freedom many people experience in such breezy hights.