On Nov. 12, Michaela Pilkenton and Kimmy Gustafson brought the first ever windsports film festival to Eugene. In an interview prior to the festival, Gustafson discussed the duo’s goal in founding the festival, saying, “We have to represent women, we have to create longer form content, we have to make it authentic, and we have to make it relatable.”
With Pilkenton’s reputation as a top 4 big air kiteboarder in the world and Gustafson’s nonprofit experience and administrative skill, they composed and toured the inaugural Wild Winds film festival, which showcased stunning visuals of kiteboarding, stand up paddleboarding, hydrofoiling and windsurfing.
Prior to Wild Winds, there was a content gap in the windsports community. Though growth was rapid after the inception of windsports, when the culture shifted in favor of short form content and instant engagement, the wind community didn’t have the established film festivals nor the audience to keep up. Pilkenton described the change, saying, “the transition to the shorter form format has been really hard for kitesurfers, and it’s kind of sad.” Missing the laid back, skate edit-esque nature of the longer form kiting edits, Pilkenton and Gustafson took matters into their own hands.
For the duo, the idea of creating a film festival was not a foreign one. With the help of Gustafson, Pilkenton herself has been kiting in front of the camera since 2019, documenting trips to Australia and Maui, and publishing competition videos. When she began competing, big air kiting was exclusive to the male, adventure chasing adrenaline junkies, so breaking into the community was a challenge.
Early in Pilkenton’s journey, she doubted whether she could learn a kite loop, a trick which would allow her to break into the big air scene. With only a few prominent women in the scene, it took a heart-to-heart talk with a friend who showed her an iconic photo of Angely Bouillot, a trailblazer at the time, mid kiteloop that changed her mind. She described the hours after, saying, “I remember I went on the water right after that, and I just pretty much hucked myself at the water for the next two hours trying to land the kite loop until I could hardly stand up.”
Pilkenton’s experience, inspiring as it was, made clear the problems of inclusivity within the kiting community. For Pilkenton and Gustafson, the vision of a more diverse community was deeply personal. Pilkenton said, “For me it’s like a fight that feels bigger than me, I just happen to live in a vessel that can be meaningful to other people.”
A hallmark of inclusivity in the festival was “Windbound,” a segment about a community of women in Charleston, South Carolina, that offered a powerful and authentic look into what it means to be a woman in the kiting community. The film, shot by Syd Johnson, who began her journey as a videographer a mere eight months prior to shooting, encapsulated all levels of kiting and provided a model for women who want to break into the kiting scene. This is exactly what Pilkenton envisions, and she hopes that “other people who might not see themselves in kiteboarding can see themselves doing it.” The breakout contextual piece was a breath of fresh air and is an example of the vision that Pilkenton and Gustafson see for the festival in years to come.
The tradition of kiteboarding has been passed down for the last few generations, with each generation pushing the envelope a little further than the last. Gustafson outlined another goal of casting a spotlight on the next generation of riders, saying, “one of the objectives of the film fest is also to create space for women and to create space for the up and coming riders.”
A highlight in the rising stars category was the final piece, a 12-minute segment of shredding from 18-year-old Cash Berzolla who exploded onto the freeriding scene in 2023. Shot in South Africa, the film shows that the next generation of wind athletes are here to push the limits of the sport.
For the duo, the job of creating a more authentic and inclusive space of stoke is far from over. The Eugene screening was the festival’s first time showing outside of an established wind community, resulting in a tight-knit audience. Nonetheless, with resounding positivity from the wind community, Gustafson and Pilkenton are optimistic, already planning to continue creating a space for people all over America to discover and enjoy windsports in 2025.
