Elite Snowboarder Kimmy Fasani Releases Inspiring New Documentary

Professional Snowboarder Kimmy Fasani shares her extraordinary journey from woman to mom in 'Butterfly in a Blizzard' - an inspiring documentary that empowers mothers and women in sport.

Promotional poster artwork for Kimmy Fasani's feature documentary, Butterfly in a Blizzard / Butterfly in a Blizzard

Butterfly in a Blizzard

After six years of fostering in the chrysalis of life, professional snowboarder, entrepreneur, and advocate Kimmy Fasani, is finally releasing her story into the world with her new documentary film, Butterfly in a Blizzard. The life-changing lessons that Fasani has learned throughout her personal and professional life are highlighted in her journey through childhood, a professional career, motherhood and cancer survivorship. Her story is eloquently woven together through the hard work of an all-women crew and the eye of director and mother Rose Corr.

With the film’s release on March 18, Fasani’s story will shine in the limelight. I recently had the chance to chat with the star and director of the film to get a feel for the project. The professional athlete from Truckee California met Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, Rose Corr, at a Natural Selection Tour event in 2023.

“I'd always really wanted a woman to help me tell this story,” explained Fasani. She and her husband Chris Benchetler, and their friend and cinematographer, Tyler Hamlet, wanted a fresh outlook. “We needed somebody that understood what it's like to be a woman and, ideally, a parent would be even better. Rose was a name that was thrown out, and I was like, “Well, that's a dream situation.””

Rose Corr, Emmy award-winning documentary and filmmaker behind the scenes of Red Bull House's Any One of Us, Sundance Film Festival winner, Giving Voice, comedic thriller Mom and Dad, and now, Butterfly in a Blizzard / Butterfly in a Blizzard

“I've always been a fan of Kim’s,” said Corr, “I was working for Natural Selection Tour at that time, and she was competing that year. I was pregnant when I met her, and then she called me and was like, 'we're making this movie. I would love for you to be a part of it,' and I couldn't say yes fast enough.”

Inspiration for the Project

At the core of any creative project lies the inspiration, an idea that spurs innovation. For Fasani, it came at a critical moment of wanting to fulfill a maternal calling while trying to balance a profession. In 2017, at the pinnacle of her career, Fasani became pregnant with her first son. Her contracts were expiring and she was faced a crossroads between snowboarding and motherhood. Fasani decided to choose both, and became a pioneer in advocating for changes in sponser contracts to include maternity clauses.

“I had to stand up and ask for something that I wanted, and I didn't know if any other women would want that, but I hoped that I could change the landscape. I just didn't feel like my career should end when I was at the height of my career. I felt like there had to be a way that I could do both.”

The film follows Fasani as she and her husband continued to travel and balance their careers while adjusting to parenthood after welcoming their second son in 2020. Throughout her years of professional snowboarding, Fasani has become an advocate for mothers in the athletic world, and has worked to break down the barriers for women athletes wanting to start families, becoming one of the most beloved athletes of this era.

Kimmy Fasani with her husband, Chris Benchetler and their two sons, Koa and Zeppelin (2023) / Todd Glaser

Todd Glaser

Despite the original idea of inspiring women to balance career and family, the trajectory of Butterfly in a Blizzard changed when Fasani was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. The challenges of the diagnosis forced Fasani to develop a greater perspective for those on a similar path.

“As we kept filming, we realized that maybe the impact of this film is really about the power of connection, community, and using our voices to stand up for things and advocating.”

The Power of Connection Brings a Change of Perspective

Throughout the film, the viewers repeatedly hear the term “matrescence,” a newly coined term that describes the transition into motherhood. Countless women go through this transition, and for Fasani, it was important to go into depth about feelings of loneliness and disorientation during matrescence, cancer treatments, and the barrage of other struggles that human beings face.

Butterfly in a Blizzard

In turn, Corr gives her perspective of how the film can bring connection. “I really think that it will help moms when they see it. Our whole intention is to inspire and make people feel seen, and pull back the curtain a little bit on this part of life that so many people go through, yet nobody really talks about.”

Butterfly in a Blizzard

Butterfly in a Blizzard

The film encapsulates the reality of life and assimilates it to that of a butterfly. Again and again, Fasani has had to adapt to her surroundings for the better or worse. Fighting through the blizzards of matrescence, loss of loved ones, 6 rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of radiation, and a double mastectomy while still juggling motherhood are not easy battles, but the film transforms the view of hardships from that of confusion and isolation to one of connection and power.

“It's so important that we feel more connected to one another rather than more divisive and turned away from each other," Fasani remarked. "It's so easy to put on an image from the outside, but if we had to wear everything on the outside, that made us feel vulnerable, I think it would help us all realize that we're all just humans.”

"You have to adapt to change," added Corr. "It feels painful. It feels hard and lonely. But when we come out on the other side, we have such a different perspective. I think that there is so much value in remembering that because when the dark is dark, it feels like it's never gonna end, but it's really temporary, only bringing you into a more beautiful version of yourself.” "The greatest story never told" is now available to buy on Apple TV.

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