Josh Berman
Two Decades Behind the Lens of Modern Skiing
Keynote Speaker | Saturday, September 12 at 2:00 PMFor more than two decades, Josh Berman has been one of the defining filmmakers behind modern freeskiing.
As the founder of Level 1 Productions, Berman spent 20 consecutive years producing annual ski films that documented — and helped shape — the progression of the sport. From the rise of newschool skiing and terrain parks to street skiing, massive backcountry lines and a generation of athletes pushing skiing in entirely new directions, Level 1 was there with a camera.
But Berman’s career almost happened by accident.
FROM SKIER TO FILMMAKER
Berman grew up skiing and arrived at Dartmouth College with aspirations far removed from filmmaking. Originally studying biochemistry and pre-med, an internship with RadicalMedia introduced him to professional production and changed the direction of his career. He switched his focus to Film Studies and Photography while continuing to pursue competitive skiing.
Then, in January 2000, a serious knee injury ended his ski season.
Unable to compete but unwilling to sit out the winter, the 21-year-old Berman picked up a camera and started following and filming his friends.
That footage became Balance, a 60-minute ski film released on VHS — and Level 1 Productions was born.
What was supposed to be a temporary project became a career.
HELPING DEFINE A GENERATION OF SKI FILMMAKING
Berman moved to Colorado in 2003 and spent the next two decades traveling the world, directing, shooting, producing and editing films with some of skiing’s most influential athletes.
Level 1 ultimately produced 20 consecutive annual feature ski films, alongside hundreds of shorts, commercials and branded projects, earning awards and developing a global following in the process.
More importantly, the company became an incubator for talent.
Berman's films provided a platform for emerging athletes and filmmakers, helping launch careers while documenting an era when freeskiing was rapidly reinventing itself.
Through it all, Berman remained unusually hands-on — filmmaker, cinematographer, director, producer, editor and business owner — giving him a perspective that extends far beyond what happens behind the camera.
BEYOND THE SKI FILM
After two decades of annual ski movies, Berman made the decision to stop.
Rather than simply repeating what had worked, he wanted to see where those years of filmmaking could take him next.
That evolution eventually led to Full Circle, Berman's first feature documentary and a project four years in the making. The film gave him an opportunity to take the visual language and filmmaking instincts developed through action sports and apply them to a deeply human, character-driven story.
For Berman, it came back to one fundamental belief:
Great filmmaking should make you feel something.
Whether that feeling comes from watching an athlete do something you didn't think was possible or becoming emotionally invested in someone's story, the goal is the same.
20+ YEARS OF LESSONS FROM BEHIND THE CAMERA
At the Winter Park Film Festival, Berman will pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to build a life around filmmaking.
Expect stories from two decades on the road with Level 1, the evolution of ski filmmaking from VHS to today's digital world, working with elite athletes, building an independent production company, finding and developing talent, and knowing when it's time to creatively reinvent yourself.
He'll also explore something every modern filmmaker is confronting: what happens to filmmaking when everyone has a camera and everyone can instantly publish?
For filmmakers, photographers, athletes, outdoor storytellers and anyone who grew up watching ski movies, this is a chance to hear from someone who didn't simply document an era of skiing.
He helped define how that era was seen.
Josh Berman — Keynote Speaker
Saturday, September 12 | 2:00 PM
Winter Park Film Festival 2026