Amateur filmmaker’s Toboggan Nationals short makes top 10 in film festival
‘Frozen Finish,’ a video short of the 2017 U.S. National Toboggan Championships by Todd J. Burgess of Saco, has been named one of the top 10 finalists in the Maine Outdoor Film Festival’s Winter Broke and Stoked Video Contest. Voting by viewers is open now through April 14, with the videographer earning the most audience votes winning $1,000 from Sugarloaf. .
‘Almost 84-year-old’ Toboggan Nationals Committee member Bob Annis measures a toboggan at the inspection table.
Longtime toboggan racer Sean Richards, of the Throbbin Boggins, talks with filmmaker Todd J. Burgess.
Sharing from the ‘stupid stick’ is a tradition of the Throbbin Boggins and Big Kahoonas toboggan racing teams.
Costumes are an important part of toboggan racing at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships, held in February at the Camden Snow Bowl.
A shot of a fast toboggan coming down the 400-foot-long wood toboggan chute that dates back to 1936 and still has some original timbers in its core structure.
‘Frozen Finish,’ a video short of the 2017 U.S. National Toboggan Championships by Todd J. Burgess of Saco, has been named one of the top 10 finalists in the Maine Outdoor Film Festival’s Winter Broke and Stoked Video Contest. Voting by viewers is open now through April 14, with the videographer earning the most audience votes winning $1,000 from Sugarloaf. .
‘Almost 84-year-old’ Toboggan Nationals Committee member Bob Annis measures a toboggan at the inspection table.
Longtime toboggan racer Sean Richards, of the Throbbin Boggins, talks with filmmaker Todd J. Burgess.
Sharing from the ‘stupid stick’ is a tradition of the Throbbin Boggins and Big Kahoonas toboggan racing teams.
Costumes are an important part of toboggan racing at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships, held in February at the Camden Snow Bowl.
A shot of a fast toboggan coming down the 400-foot-long wood toboggan chute that dates back to 1936 and still has some original timbers in its core structure.
PORTLAND — A few years back, Todd Burgess of Saco was skiing at the Camden Snow Bowl on the same weekend as that year’s U.S. National Toboggan Championships. After checking it out and being “blown away by the excitement,” Burgess vowed to come back and film the event.
Burgess has been a Maine film creator for almost a decade, creating videos that highlight the Maine experience. His videos have been featured on 207 numerous times, such as his Old Orchard Postcard video, and his Maine in a Mason Jar photo series has graced the pages of Down East and the cover of Portland magazine.
His love for the outdoors, and Maine, pushes him to constantly discover locations such as the Bold Coast, Mount Kineo and recently, his video about the Allagash Abandoned Trains on his Facebook page has been viewed by more than a quarter million people in several days. His goal is to capture and share all that's unique in Maine to share with others.
And that’s what he has done with his film, Frozen Finish: National Event Maine Experience, which was recently selected as a top 10 finalist in the Maine Outdoor Film Festival’s Broke and Stoked Video Contest.
The film captures much of the spirit of the event, which is what Burgess said he found most interesting.
“I really enjoyed the costume parade and all the team camaraderie, everyone was in such good spirits,” said Burgess.
After spending time talking with the racers and spectators, he said he was “surprised at how far people traveled for the event and how long some teams have been doing the races. It seemed that some teams had generations of participants.”
Though he was aware of the winter film festival, Burgess said his enjoyment for discovering and filming interesting events in Maine exceeded his interest in the film festival. It just turned out, he said, that the winter film festival was a good fit to enter Frozen Finish.
If Burgess’ film is different than the other nine entries, it could be due to his passion for storytelling.
“I work making promotional videos in companies and always like the videos where they tell a story. Documentary film is a passion I plan to pursue,” said Burgess. “I think telling someone else's story is a reflection of my interest. I like to learn about niches and sub cultures and share them with others so they too can learn about a cultural event or unique person.”
And like the dedicated Toboggan National racers and their fans who turn out year after year to enjoy a spirited, albeit often very cold, weekend of outdoor winter fun each February, Burgess was right there with them.
“I worked solo in the cold temperatures and couch surfing at my cousin’s house in Rockport for three days for something I don't get paid for. That is my dedication to my craft and what I am passionate about. I can't wait to make my next Maine inspired tale and am always open to hearing unique stories. I think a story I heard from a past lighthouse keeper is my next film...,” said Burgess.
Your vote will help decide who wins the 2017 Broke and Stoked Video Contest from the Maine Outdoor Film Festival. One vote per person, watch the top 10 entries here. A $1,000 grand prize from Sugarloaf goes to the film with the most votes.
In 2015, Maine Outdoor Film Festival launched its Broke and Stoked Video Contest, an initiative meant to encourage amateur Maine filmmakers to make short, high-energy outdoor films by offering free submission and valuable prizes (10 outdoor gear prize packs for the finalists and $1,000 for the grand prize winner). That first year of the Broke and Stoked contest, MOFF received more than 30 entrants and more than 700 people voted in the online ballot to help decide the winner.
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