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Didier Lafond, originally from Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, where he still lives, was a pioneer of alternative sports films in the early 1980s. He focused on sports like freestyle skiing, climbing, and skydiving, which he also practiced. He directed the very first short film about monoskiing ever broadcast on television, "Skieur rêveur" (Dreaming Skier), in 1981. He also directed numerous action sports films broadcast during the heyday of "La Nuit de la Glisse" (Night of the Glide) from 1982 to 1987; "Ski Symphonie" (Ski Symphony), "Opéra Blanc" (White Opera), "Juste pour le plaisir" (Just for Pleasure), "La Créature du Professeur Glissenstein" (The Creature of Professor Glissenstein), to name just a few. Some sixty awards garnered at festivals worldwide attest to his talent; no other director has ever achieved such a record in sports cinema, and he has become an ambassador for French sports films globally.
But it was the legendary "Apocalypse Snow," which Didier filmed in 1983, that would forever leave its mark and become a worldwide hit with snowboarder Régis Rolland. This now-cult classic, released in 1984, featured snowboarding on screen for the first time. The film has influenced every generation of snowboarders to this day and helped launch snowboarding globally. "Apocalypse Snow" garnered seven international awards, and few sports films have remained as memorable. Twenty-five years later, Didier set himself a new goal: to make "Apocalypse Snow: The Return" with the world's greatest riders. Filming for this short film took place from 2007 to 2008, with its official release in the fall of 2008.
An American Period
Didier traveled the world alongside some of the greatest adventurers and most accomplished athletes, such as Mike Horn, Boivin, Profit, Gouvy, and Patrick de Gayardon, to name just a few. Exiled for a time in the United States, he worked with Patrick de Gayardon on a Reebok commercial in 1994. This was unprecedented at the time, as the ad featured Patrick de Gayardon skydiving (freefalling while wearing a surfboard). This commercial was pivotal, as it sparked the trend of extreme sports advertising in the US, a market that had become enormous. Building on his success, Didier took on a wide range of film projects: short films, medium-length films, feature films as second unit director, television series, and commercials for diverse clients such as ski and cosmetics brands, and even the US Air Force. Still riding the wave of the action sports world, Didier was also the first Frenchman to sell a television series to the United States. Specifically, he co-produced the extreme sports series "Extreme" with Universal ABC.
With an international reputation, he worked on numerous feature films, shooting as second unit director and choreographing stunts. Among them, “Terminal Velocity” (1994) with Charlie Sheen and Nastassja Kinski, “The Extremist” (2002) by Christian Duguais, “Origin of Evil”, “Snowboarders” (2003) by Olias Barco with Nicolas Duvauchelle and finally “Bridget Jones 2” (2004) with Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant.
