23/02/2023 - BERLINALE 2023: Bernhard Braunstein’s documentary on the titular elite ski boarding school skilfully shows what it takes to make it to the top

There is limitless power and an unhinged physicality in the way these skiers race past the camera. One might think that director Bernhard Braunstein had placed his camera amid a world-cup competition. But the people hidden underneath all that gear and behind the sponsors are teenagers taking part in a training session. They are students at the Stams ski boarding school, located in the Tyrolean Alps – the future elite of the sport. And Stams [+see also:
trailer
interview: Bernhard Braunstein
film profile], which has been shown in the Berlinale’s Panorama Dokumente strand, is a documentary following their path for a year during their school life, encompassing all the highs and the lows.

After the training on the slopes comes a Mass in church. The school is, after all, located in a rather conservative and traditional area. But there is a trenchant argument in what Braunstein is doing here. Skiing in Austria, and specifically in Tyrol, is more than just a pastime. It is a religion in itself. And when the pastor speaks about everybody being equal in dignity, but maybe not in talent, a godly mission seems to arise amidst the students. Skiing and winning for their country – and there are a couple to choose from, as it’s not only wealthy Austrians who send their kids to Stams – becomes their calling.

But Braunstein, himself a passionate skier, does not try to downplay or criticise the school or the students. He offers a kaleidoscope of impressions: the good, the bad and the ugly. In his calm, collected shots, he does not single out two or three people’s efforts to make it into the racing squad. Rather, he offers an array of characters, each with their own aspirations and challenges. One girl openly talks about her worries about what else to do with her life if she cannot pursue a career in this field. Another has trouble setting those goals, seeming rather indifferent. “That is not enough,” her trainer answers sternly when she simply states she wants to participate in a local race.

Despite the fancy equipment and great training routines these trainers and teachers come up with, this iron will that is implanted into the youngsters, this triumph of the mind over the body, at times seems scary. They are devoid of any pleasure or love for the sport. This is the core of the conflict that Braunstein slowly but surely starts to unveil. Once the fascination with these strict regimes wears off, a question lingers. Is there still any love for this sport? Any joy in what they are doing? Or have these students become machines, slaves to a goal they’ve pursued since they were three or four years old, never looking back and never considering alternatives?

This talk about recurring injuries, physical therapy and the fear of how one could fall behind is ever present in the conversations, and in the eyes of the racers. Talking about snapped ligaments is as ordinary as talking about bad grades. One visually lingering scene is when a group of female ski jumpers receive news on the distances they have leapt. The desperation at not having met their goal, and the fear of what might happen next, results in anger and uncontrolled crying against the fence. It is a cut-throat business. But interestingly, it’s also one in which companionship, friendship and moral support are forged – one where the teens, just sometimes, can let loose and act their age.

Getting through the hell that is a competitive sport is not possible if one remains an island; it is about being a network. And Stams, for all its overbearing mechanisms and demands, still provides this haven for pursuing a dream – and doing it together.

Stams was produced by Austria’s Panama Films and is sold internationally by Rise and Shine World Sales.