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May 3, 2007

Documentary tackles the pros and cons of developing communities

By STEVE OUELLETTE

TUPPER LAKE — What do you do when you’re concerned about the future of your community?

You throw a movie night and invite the whole town.

Calling themselves “just a couple of Tupper Lakers,” John Gillis and Scott Magrino felt helpless when a development was proposed at the former Big Tupper Ski Area.

Early this year, though, Magrino found a story about the documentary film “Resorting to Madness: Taking Back our Mountain Communities.”

“Scott saw an article about it in a western newspaper,” said Gillis. “I watched and I thought, ‘Wow, is this ever appropriate for us.’

“It was amazing and timely for Tupper Lake ... and it ends kind of like ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ encouraging you to get out and do something.”

So they did. The pair arranged for the documentary, which debuted in California in January, to make its East Coast premiere Wednesday in Tupper Lake. Filmmaker and narrator Hunter Sykes will be on hand to answer questions.

“It’s not anti (development) and it’s not pro; it shows the good and the bad,” said Gillis. “The bad is mostly when people don’t pay attention to what’s happening in their own backyards.”

Sykes and co-creator Darren Campbell had never made a film before “Resorting to Madness.”

“Our masters are in international environmental policies,” said Sykes. “We were able to do the research well — we probably over-researched — but actually making a film was an eye-opening experience.”

The duo has a combined 35 years of experience working in the ski industry, primarily in Colorado and California, and had seen up close how resorts had transformed serene mountain areas.

“It’s not necessarily ski resorts. You could change it to beach resort or any other resort, and you find that everything revolves around real estate and developing real estate,” said Sykes. “Prices go through the roof and residents can’t afford to live there anymore.

“I left Vail (Colorado) because I couldn’t afford to live there; it was cheaper to spend $50,000 for a master’s degree.”

Sykes said that in three weeks he’s moving again, out of a rental home in Lake Tahoe, because again he can’t afford to stay there on a middle class income.

The film’s makers conducted nearly 60 hours worth of interviews and condensed it to 49 minutes, with some help from veterans of the Warren Miller ski films.

It opened to good reviews at the environmentally themed Wild and Scenic Film Festival in California.

The cost of real estate is far from the only issue they discuss as they look at ski areas from coast to coast.

“Environmentally, a lot of damage occurs,” said Sykes. “The effects on wildlife and water are pretty big, and that creates other issues ... air quality, traffic, everything becomes linked.

“As we did the research, we discovered how the communities were affected too. They were losing teachers, losing artisans, losing small and medium-sized businesses that couldn’t compete.”

The film also discusses some success stories. Behind Robert Redford, Sundance, Utah has avoided most commercialization. Aspen has utilized environmentally-friendly green methods at its ski areas.

“We don’t tell you that this is bad and you have to fight these guys,” said Sykes. “We’re just trying to empower you to make an informed decision.”

Which is all a couple of Tupper Lakers want to do.

“It’s just a lot of good information,” said Gillis. “It’s very thought-provoking and timely.”

E-mail Steve Ouellette at: souellette@pressrepublican.com

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