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Vergez wins Dirt Diaries

Also in arts news: Squamish ArtWalk planned; music and a movie at The Point
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Damien Vergez won Dirt Diaries for a second year in a row. Photo by Veronika Białonová

Damien Vergez held on to first place at Dirt Diaries again this year.

The France-based director and producer earned the top spot—and a $5,000 cheque—for his short film Men in Bikes, which screened at the event in Whistler Olympic Plaza last Wednesday, Aug. 14.

"To me Dirt Diaries isn't just about having an idea or knowing how to focus pull," Vergez says in a release. "It's about being able to create something that resonates with an audience. It's about being able to tell a story in a powerful way."

The story he told this year starred mountain biker Brett Tippie in a Men in Black homage. After buying a special device from a mad scientist, Tippie travels around the Whistler Mountain Bike Park stealing skills from pro-riders—and delivering some bad jokes in the process.

The annual Crankworx contest features short films from six filmmakers who begin production on June 1. The resulting clips have to feature the Whistler Valley and the Whistler Mountain Bike Park in a quarter of their films, but then have free rein on any other aspect.

Max Sauerbrey, a 19-year-old filmmaker from Colorado, earned second place this year with his film Step by Step, while third place went to Anne Cleary and Lacy Kemp, for their video Trail's Alive!, which featured a female crew of riders.

Music and a movie at The Point

The Point Artist-Run Centre is hosting a unique double-header evening of film and music on Wednesday, Aug. 28.

First up, Whistler musician Aude Ray is celebrating the launch of her new album Dreamcatcher. She will perform alongside her band, made up of Sea to Sky musicians, including Marcus Ramsay on guitar, Radim Koppitz on violin, Rajan Das on bass and Andrew Crome on drums.

After that, filmmaker tobias c. van Veen will screen his new short film Lost Alien. Shot in Whistler using documentary techniques with "surrealist and silent filmmaking," the film follows a photosensitive black alien that's stranded on a sunlit planet and attempting to return to her dark dimension.

The evening runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 at thepointartists.com/events.html.

Squamish ArtWalk

Arts Whistler recently announced the myriad events happening as part of its Fall for Arts season in September, but it turns out our neighbours to the south have some creative autumn offerings in store too.

From Sept. 1 to 28, the Squamish ArtWalk will pair various shops and galleries from Brackendale to Britannia Beach with artists from the Sea to Sky Corridor to display their work.

A kickoff party for the month-long event is set for Saturday, Sept. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. That will include an Anonymous Art Show fundraiser in which all art will be displayed anonymously until it's purchased. The pieces will be $50 with half going back to the artists.

For more details visit squamishartscouncil.com.