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art MEETS action HITS tHE SPOT FOR ADRENALINE JUNI(IES The G stands for gravity and the gFEST Film Festival shows films about pulse-quickening adventure sports that defy it-" a celebration of the recreational war against gravity." More than just videos of extreme sports with heavy-metal soundtracks, these films are about the art of G. They mix truly creative vision with radical adventure sport. Now, the 32 gFEST films, chosen last May in Denver, are on a road tour to a theater or outdoor shop near you. "The people who make these films are athletes and artists," said festival organizer Peter Downing. "They take the risks we see in the films. They have to be nuts themselves." By bringing that celebration of creative nuttiness to the big screen, Downing intends to make the gFEST a legitimate showcase for unknown filmmakers who value art as much as big air. "Ultimately gFEST should be like Banff or the Telluride Film Festival, where people would come to see the festival every year," Downing said. This year, some 90-100 entrants were judged in six categories, based on where the sports footage was shot: snow, air, water, rock and trail, urban, and the vertical plane. Entrants came mostly from the US and Canada but also from countries like New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland and Wales. The films ranged in length from three minutes to one hour. After the organizers whittled down the number of entrants, a jury made up of local media, artists, filmmakers and photographers chose the winners. Winners in each category landed $1,000 and a Garmin GPS unit. The overall festival winner got $2,000 and a trophy. The festival embodies an eclectic mix of work: entrants include skateboarder Tony Hawk's cement epic The End and Hitting the Wall, National Geographic's film on climber Greg Child's expedition to Baffin Island. "If a young Warren Miller is out there, now he's got a venue to send his film," said Downing. -Michael Rey Images this page: video stills from Ode to Avalanche.