Squamish-based mountain guide Jean-François (JF) Plouffe has made a career out of navigating the toughest terrain. Big alpine objectives and unpredictable weather are familiar territory. But as the new short film Midlife Crisis makes clear, some of life’s challenges arrive without a map or a forecast.
Filmed in BC and Japan, Midlife Crisis follows Plouffe through a period of profound personal change. In the span of a few years, he found himself dealing with divorce, the loss of his family home and the end of a relationship. For someone accustomed to solving problems in the mountains, the experience forced him to confront something different: how to rebuild when the foundations of everyday life shift beneath your feet.
The film combines skiing, climbing and time spent outdoors with reflections on loss, vulnerability and fortitude. Through conversations with friends and family and long days in the mountains, Plouffe explores how to find purpose again after life takes a turn.
The experience forced him to confront something different: how to rebuild when the foundations of everyday life shift beneath your feet.
Midlife Crisis is not strictly a ski film or a climbing film. Instead, it uses adventure as a lens to examine mental health and the ways people cope when familiar identities and routines begin to unravel.
“Through my experience, the goal was to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health, particularly the pressure many men feel to remain strong, independent and silent about their struggles,” says Plouffe. “But this isn’t just a story for men. It’s a story for anyone who has experienced loss, questioned their direction, or struggled to find their footing when life hasn’t gone according to plan.”
The film tackles subjects often left out of outdoor storytelling: loneliness, uncertainty, grief, and the importance of asking for help. Rather than presenting adventure as an escape from life’s challenges, Midlife Crisis suggests that time in the mountains can create space to process them.
Related content from ML:
For longtime followers of Plouffe’s work, the film marks a progression. His previous project, Balancing Act, explored the challenge of combining fatherhood with a life spent in the mountains. Midlife Crisis turns the camera inward to examine what happens when an experienced guide suddenly finds himself navigating unfamiliar ground.
A Helly Hansen athlete for nearly two decades, Plouffe has spent much of his career helping others step beyond their comfort zones. Along the way he has guided expeditions around the world, launched businesses, developed outdoor education programs and spoken to audiences about leadership and adventure. Yet Midlife Crisis may be his most revealing project to date.
For Plouffe, the story underlines a simple idea: adventure isn’t always about reaching a summit.
The film will screen at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) on November 18, with additional festival appearances to follow.
Check the ML Podcast!
