Our Story
Sweetgrass Productions LLC is a Colorado-based film company rooted in winter backcountry and mountain culture. We give our time to filming remote freeride lines, from snowsurf and noboard to alpine and tele. We focus on the riding, we focus on the art, we focus on blending the two into what we call film, both form and content.
It's the people that make filmmaking interesting, and our work is about spending a long time in one place. It's more than just backcountry skiing, it's about the mountains, and the people who love them, about the light, the shadows, and the emotion that changes with their balance. A cloudy icy slope and a sunny powder line produce two different moods, two different riders, and two different filmmakers. Our films are based in this knowledge that there is more to a mountain than fresh snow and a big line; there are stories to be told. Whether in the living room of a 92 year-old miner or playing toys with an athletes 3 year-old son, it's about connecting with people who may not share your language or culture. Thanks for watching, thanks for visiting, thanks for supporting.
The Sweetgrass Family
Nick Waggoner - DIRECTOR
Nick Waggoner was born in a back-alley dumpster in New York City and quickly learned how to talk himself out of arrest and into opportunity. Shyness and modesty were not rewarded in the big city, and Nick lends his urban-tempered initiative to Sweetgrass Productions as Director/Producer. Behind the lens, Nick uses his Colorado College BA in Documentary Film to tell stories through poetic rhythm and soulful narrative.
Ben Sturgulewski - PRODUCER
Hailing from the harsh waters of the Aleutian chain, Ben Sturgulewski took to books at an early age to escape the dark Alaskan winters, and graduated Colorado College as a highly-celebrated English-Film major. Beyond Ben’s creativity and intelligence with the pen, he lends his skill as a tireless visual artist, both at the editing deck and behind the camera.
Ian Hock - ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
A fellow New York native, Ian joined Sweetgrass in the summer of 2008 over good food and better wine. Ian’s attention to detail on the grill is mirrored in his passion for the cinematic art and his sharp sense of camera movement. He graduated with a BA in English-Film from Colorado College, and from videography to web design, Ian is a multi-talented voice in the Sweetgrass family.
Yuki Miyazaki - DIRECTOR, SWEETGRASS JAPAN
Born outside the mayhem of Tokyo, Yuki first came to the United States to attend an east coast boarding school. In his words, “the swimming pool on the brochure looked cool.” While limited in his English at first, he quickly conquered his “r’s” and “l’s,” and now speaks English and Spanish with more tact than most natives. Beyond his work as a culinary guide and day-to-day interpreter, Yuki uses his Colorado College International Business degree as the hard-working Producer/Marketing Director of Sweetgrass Japan.
Michael Brown - PHOTOGRAPHER, 24 YRS OLD
A native of SLC, Michael started shooting for Sweetgrass during the production of Hand Cut, deep in the snow blanket of Revelstoke, BC.. A graduate of the MSU Bozeman film school, Michael uses his photographic eye and 6’5” frame to capture gorgeous images from the bird’s eye. www.michaelbrownmedia.com