Alumni and brothers Tyler and Elliot Wilkinson-Ray will premiere their documentary United We Ski this month at screenings around Vermont and New Hampshire, including one at UVM.

The film explores the rise and fall of small-scale ski operations in New England, telling the stories of three Vermont ski areas that have survived: Hard’ack, Cochran’s Ski Area, and Northeast Slopes.

While the film offers a taste of the high-definition, slow-motion, action-shot videography iconic to ski and snowboard films, its focus is on the community support and volunteerism that allows these operations to continue to provide affordable skiing to local kids and families. "A child’s love of skiing, the volunteers that run our local hills and the strong communities that emerge around them" are what they say motivated them to create the film.

Elliot and Tyler, who graduated from UVM in 2011 and 2012, respectively, conceived of the film while driving to and from ski races as coaches for Cochran's Ski Club in Richmond, Vt., where they have skied since childhood. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the project was launched, and with the help of UVM intern Isabelle La Motte and videography veterans Nate Steinbauer, of Five Eye Films, and Jim Wilkinson-­Ray, their father and a videographer at Vermont Public Television, they formed the L3C-designated organization T-Bar Films.

Visit the T-Bar Films website to see a list of screening dates and locations and to purchase tickets. At each screening, money will be raised for the ski areas through donation buckets, raffles and auctions.

UVM's screening will take place Thursday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. at Billings Lecture Hall. The event is hosted by the UVM Ski and Snowboard Club and the Outing Club, and tickets are $5.

Watch the trailer:

United We Ski Trailer from T-Bar Films on Vimeo.