Steamboat Springs — The kickoff event to this year’s Steamboat Mountain Film Fest, held last month, put the itch in its audience to swap sandals for ski and snowboard boots.

On Friday, the festival’s three-film main event at the Chief Theater is sure to leave theater-goers wrapped in head-to-toe winter sport attire, doing snow dances for the snow gods in the streets.

This year marks the festival’s 14th, and the films, “Between,” “Ruin and Rose” and “Hike2Ride,” will be featured.

“Between”

Shades of Winter’s “Between” is comprised entirely of female athletes, including Janina Kuzma, Julia Mancuso and Carissa Moore, and produced by an all-female crew, led by Austrian pro skier and filmmaker Sandra Lahnsteiner.

“Between” features skiing and surfing and focuses on the relationships and moments between the big events that make these sports meaningful to athletes.

“The female-athlete theme is kind of a new thing in such a male-dominated sport,” said festival organizer Michael Martin. “It’s refreshing to see a different perspective.”

The film was backed by Red Bull Media House, which provided resources to film in hard-to-access, remote areas. “Between” was also a two-year project — notably lengthy in the world of ski films, which generally take a single season and are generally “kind of a hail Mary,” said Martin, who’s worked in the outdoor adventure film industry for 20 years. Audience members can expect a winner of a film.

“They took it up a notch,” Martin said.

“Ruin and Rose”

Matchstick Productions’ “Ruin and Rose” is the gripping story of environmental apocalypse on the Skeleton Coast of Africa, narrated by a child curious about the past.

Veteran and rookie winter athletes, including Mark Abma, Sammy Carlson, Markus Eder and Zack Giffin, shoot into the story captured in striking cinematography. Settings range from Alaska to Bulgaria, Switzerland to Namibia.

Directed by winner of Powder Magazine’s Movie of the Year Award Ben Sturgulewski, the film has been called Matchstick Productions’ most ambitious. The film is presented by Under Armour and supported by Freeskier, Avery Brewing Co. and The Climate Reality Project.

“It makes you think about the future of skiing,” Martin said.

“Hike2Ride”

“Hike2Ride” is the third film of the HIKE trilogy. Freeride world champion in snowboarding of 2011 Mitch Tolderer, around whom the series is based, leads his wife and fellow freeride snowboarder, Bibi Pekarek, and freeriding friends Stefan Hausl and Bjorn Heregger on a self-organized riding expedition to Norway.

Jeremy Jones’ Jones Snowboards, Nordica, Blizzard Intelligent Equipment, O’Neill and Scott supported the film; the Vienna-based Illuminati Film produced it.

“It’s unique footage — stuff you don’t see in North America,” Martin said.

Martin expects the trio of films will offer something for everyone in attendance.

“We’ve got the action-based film, the story-based film, then the behind-the-scenes film,” Martin said.

Martin noted the festival has been gaining farther reach and growing international attention each year. This year’s festival received submissions from New Zealand, Australia, Peru and England, among others.

The films will be rated by the audience for best film, best powder and best athlete; view teasers of the film and cast votes prior to the event at steamboatfilmfestival.com/voting.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Friday; the first film starts at 7:15 p.m.