Today is “International Women’s Day.” If you look around the landscape of the action and outdoors sports industry, progression is being every day, and a lot of it by women. Look at who the best skier and snowboarder on the planet are right now. Mikaela Shiffrin and Chloe Kim are unstoppable forces dominating the entire sport.
Women everywhere are using their power to make a change for the better and help inspire others.
In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s National History Month, we want to introduce you to World Champion Snowboarders Anne-Flore Marxer and Aline Bock and their Inspire in Empowering Documentary : “A Land Shaped by Women”. The Thirteen-Time Award-Winning Film is now available on demand in honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s National History Month.
Action Sports Today sat down with Anne-Flore Marxer to speak more about the film and lessons learned through the journey.
AST: This film shares some amazing stories of women and how the brought about change. Did you find a story that even caught you by surprise in how it impacted you?
AFM: On my quest for women empowerment in Iceland for my film, I had the most inspiring encounter with Katrin Oddsdottir, a human rights lawyer and activist who took part in the writing of the new constitution after the crash of 2008 in Iceland.
From my research on the recent history of women in Iceland, I reminded Kata of how Icelandic women had shaped the political landscape by bringing women’s issues on the political agenda in 1922 and again in 1983 with the Women’s Alliance.
When I made the parallel with what was happening with the New Constitution to the Women’s Alliance efforts, she blushed and confessed to me it had been her mother who had re-launched the Women’s Alliance in 1983. I think she then realized the massive impact her mother had brought in her time and showed her the coming longevity of her own activism.
Kata is now leading yet another movement through women to bring the New Constitution on the front of the social debate and it is massively growing as we speak and publicly supported by President Vigdis who now wants to see the film.
AST: Describe how changing your lifestyle from a professional snowboarder to allowing others to teach and inspire you has reshaped you?
AFM: My snowboarding background through my career was in video segments. I had to learn the freeride competition approach for three years which was a whole new thing for me. It was exciting to learn a whole new experience in my sport, but I am not that competitive. When I see other girls and guys stepping it up, it inspires me and it makes me happy! I always loved being in mountains for video segments, where you function as a team. In the mountains, if something happens to you, the only ones who can save your life are those who came with you and vice versa. You need to always check on your mates to make sure everyone stays safe.
I was tired of the narrative of mountain films that was often talking about extreme and danger.
President Vigdis said, “What you can see, you can be” and that’s what I liked about making this film. Finding sources of inspiration at so many levels on a wider spectrum. The Icelandic women were my number 1 inspiration to go to Iceland in the first place, meeting them was such a gift of inspiration and strength to my life that waking a film about it was the best way to transmit that gift of empowerment further.
I now have incredible friends in Iceland and it’s connected me back to real life with more support and more love for one another.. i was looking for a different kind of adventure but i had not expected it would bring so much to my life
*Note: President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir served as the fourth President of Iceland from 1 August 1980 to 1996. She was the world's first democratically directly elected female president. With a presidency of exactly sixteen years, she also remains the longest-serving elected female head of state of any country to date. (Wikipedia ref)
AST: What does International Women’s Day and National History Month mean to you? What can we learn from it?
AFM: Here in Europe we see it like the day for women’s rights, where we bring the gender equality topic in the center of public debate and take time to evaluate the progress there is still to be made. Through this day, we are celebrating the women that have participated in bringing gender equality. We support women’s initiatives but the reality is that those are issues that concern us all as a society and one day is not enough. So, it is up to us to then bring those positive changes all year around.
I’ve been fighting for more opportunities for women in my sport Europe for the past 15 years, and it was seen as tiring and joykill.
But today, thanks to the movement of supporting Women’s initiatives, it is now seen through a positive lens and it gives women all around the world better opportunities. I love celebrating womanhood in a positive manner and bringing light to such great projects and initiatives!
For more information, go to ALandShapedByWomen.com or follow @landshapedbywomen onFacebook for the latest updates. The film is sponsored by Sunlight, Vaude, Thule, Alpina, Blue Tomato and Thermopad and is available via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, FandangoNow, Playstation, Vimeo on Demand and VUDU.
To purchase and watch this film click here