Hors-Terrain The 36-year-old photographer and director, who has just released his third film “Free Rider”, has quickly become a reference in the world of snowboard
The entire crew of the film “Free Rider”, with Jérôme Tanon on the far right. — Jérôme Tanon
- Every other Thursday, in its “Off-Pitch” section, 20 Minutes explores new, unexpected, unusual, clever spaces for expressing sport or in full swing.
- This week, we are dedicated to the career of Jérôme Tanon, who has played a major role in the world of French snowboarding for many years, as a photographer and director.
- The native of the Paris region, addicted to film photography, has just released the film Free Rider, currently playing on Montagne en scène, and in which we see him accompany skier Sam Anthamatten and snowboarder Victor de Le Rue to Alaska.
On may have passed throughout his childhood and adolescence in the Paris region and to dedicate a large part of his life to snowboarding. Not as an elite athlete, like this Off-court column.has been present for nearly two years, but as a reference photographer and director in the discipline. Jérôme Tanon, since it’s about him, has just made his third film, Free Rider, scheduled for 2018. in the unmissable Montagne en scène festival, all over France until January 24th.
A work as spectacular as it is offbeat, with features Swiss skier Sam Anthamatten and Savoyard snowboarder Victor de Le Rue, landed in the depths of Alaska last April to ride different peaks until then. devoid of any trace. Jérôme Tanon noticed that that two schools were opposed on such a project, which represents “almost a year of work to be done. full time, between organizing the expedition and editing the film.” “The problem with riders is that by definition they just want to ride,” Annecy. It’s “chanmé”, the images are always impressive, but you have to find a story with meaning. It’s not like a decade ago, when there was no narration on those freeride movies, just tricks and music.”
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Swiss skier Sam Anthamatten in action last April from one of the impressive peaks he rode with his friend Victor de Le Rue. – Christoph Thoresen & Jérôme Tanon
“They rid“ things that are not human”
An insufficient cocktail of action to open up to the general public, as an event such as Montagne en scène allows. Simultaneously narrator, producer, director and editor on Free Rider, Jérôme Tanon (36) most often went to Alaska on a small peak opposite the athletes’ descents to film, while also relying on two cameramen, Christoph Thoresen and Yannick Boissenot , specialized in drone images. But he also found himself on his snowboard for a descent that appears to be at screen.
I’ridden a small playable side, but it’s already completely crazy. I felt like I was falling from the sky. Ideally, I should be able to go everywhere with the riders. But on such a freeride expedition, not many people can follow them. They laughed unhuman stuff. I’m still the go-to guy. the drag is a little tricky, but we’ve never had to call a rescue helicopter for me yet.”
But by the way, how could this Parisian have had such a professional trajectory, to the point of ending up in Alaska, on a major project with The North Face brand as its main sponsor? “As a teenager, I was passionate about from skateboarding to; Paris, and çled me’ to snowboarding and therefore to the mountain, he recalls. I was 18 years and 3 days old when I got my driver’s license, and it happened. the key of my freedom. I participated in; lots of freestyle events. I had a decent level but my friends Victor de Le Rue, Victor Daviet and Arthur Longo were ultra-strong. I spent all my summers with them at the snowparks in Tignes and Les 2 Alpes.”
It stands out by opting for 100 % silver
Party at; barely major for a year of studying physics and biology at the University. Lausanne (Switzerland) then to; Grenoble, he knew very well that his desires lay elsewhere. “I was going to ride every other day, I would show up in snow boots to class, it was outrageous,” he smiles. This degree in physics and biology was my excuse for parents to finance me a little. And even if I validated My freshman year, my plan was to become a photographer as soon as possible.”
Because for Jérôme Tanon, the passion for photography catches up with that for snowboarding. Especially at from a click, when it turns to 22 years towards silver. “”I was so happy to have the same snowboard photos as everyone else,” he explains. The grain and texture of film hooked me up. and I started to become the only snow and skate photographer to shoot 100% of the time on film.”
Voilà to what the impressive film photos of Jérôme Tanon can look like. – Jérôme Tanon
Hours of “finding the perfect angle”
His eye and his taste for film are appreciated by athletes, such as Victor de Le Rue: “He always manages to make it. make THE photo, with a great silhouette, to highlight the rider” For nearly 15 years, Jérôme Tanon has been developing his works himself, stretching them out with pliers. laundry in his bathroom, àgrave; the old one. He explains to how much the fact of having abandoned the number has changed its relationship to; the picture.
&Cedilit may take a month and a half before I discover my photos. With film, you focus on making every shot count. That’s what’s great: I really feel like I’m taking a photo, and not activating a burst mode. While the rider is climbing, I spend hours riding. move 30 cm to find the perfect angle, the one that will guarantee the rider not to have a tree behind him. I have a fraction of a second to act, and since I am a snowboarder of the correct level, I know what angle to take according to the figure of the athlete.”
Self-taught to the photo, it is just as much in the cinema, since the release in 2016 of The Eternal Beauty of Snowboarding, in which he makes us live all the backstages of his travels with about fifty riders, in order to show their reality. “It’sa choice that I didn’t go to photography school or film school, he says. I wanted to do everything by myself, so as not to be influenced. I wanted films that were original, honest, funny and with personality.” His directorial debut “became an instant cult film,” now has 1.6 million views on YouTube.
Jérôme Tanon in his photo lab. – Jérôme Tanon
“”He is able to make fun of us””
Follows in 2018 Zabardast (nearly 5 million views on YouTube) with snowboarder Thomas Delfino, where he finds himself at pull sleds over 170 km in Kurdistan. His friend Victor de Le Rue (33) remembers: “He was just recovering from a ruptured cruciate ligament in one knee, so I thought that he was sick of taking part in this gigantic loop. He had a hard time but we have seen that he has given himself by phew”.
This one, who nicknames Jérôme Tanon “the chameleon” all backgrounds, is delighted with the rendering of Free Rider“I like authenticity“ about his work: he is able to make fun of us while being self-deprecating. As he’s a friend, çit doesn’t pose the slightest concern to see him filming the intimacy all the time. from our experience. With exactly the same wrinkle images at layout, this film would be very different without its touch, its humor.”.
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« I’m living my dream vicariously”
&Cedilit gives us here 13 days of adventure, wilder than wild, where we see the gang having fun give names to the Alaskan peaks they inaugurate, like The Big Lebowski to begin with. With a crazy daily life: get up at 3 o’clock in the morning to hunt for beautiful lights, then “until” 5 hours of ascent for 2 minutes of descent” for Sam Anthamatten and Victor de Le Rue.
Our Off-Terrain feature
“I am living my dream by proxy, savors Jérôme Tanon. I’m a fan of all these riders, they are my heroes. Ten years ago, the Holy Grail for me was having my pictures in a snowboard magazine. I never thought that one day my films would be seen by millions of people around the world.” Nor that he would contribute, with his snowboarder friend Victor Daviet, to exfiltrate 14 members of the Afghan national snowboarding team, threatened with death by the Taliban.
Montagne en scène continues until January 24
There are places left for this edition of Montagne en scène (17 euros), notably in Caen, Chamonix, Le Mans and Avignon this Thursday (7:30 p.m.), in Lille on Friday, at the Grand Rex in Paris on 9 and 12 December, in Toulouse on December 9 then on January 11 and 12, in Lyon and Metz on December 13, in Lattes-Montpellier on December 13 and January 11, in Grenoble on December 15 and 16, in Marseille and Nice on January 12 , and finally in Rennes on January 24. Reservations and information here.