Documentary project 2021-2023 " Following the Snow"

The idea for the project is based on Nelli Heiskanen´s PhD research "Skilled Seasonal Worker Retention: Case Ski Instructors". Covid-19 affected the shooting in 2021 making it difficult or impossible to do indoor shootings, but even then, outdoor shooting was possible everywhere. Some of the images show safety distances and face masks as a sign of the times. The pandemic did not have a negative impact on the number of customers in the ski resorts in Finland, but on the contrary, the number of customers in the resorts increased and led to record numbers of ski days and sales. Climate change with unpredictable winters is a big threat to the ski school activities. The desire to operate in the most sustainable way possible, taking the environment into account, has led to for example the popularity of backcountry excursions where no lifts are used. In Finland, the majority of the ski instructors have another job as their main source of income. Doctors, cleaners, lawyers, and truck drivers are all on the slopes on the same line. Fellow skiers are not defined by money or success. Snow, the white gold, connects people. Ski instructors come to work in the resorts from different parts of Finland for weekends and holidays and often stay in shared accommodations with the colleagues. Hence, the ski instructor life involves much more than only teaching on the slopes: training with colleagues, partying, board games, cooking, sauna, stretching – you name it. The photos in the exhibition show the ski instructor life on and off the slopes. Big thanks to JOKES (The Foundation to Promote Journalistic Culture), that made the whole project possible.