Banff (AB), Canada – In 2004, Josh Dueck was a freestyle ski coach who loved being in the mountains so much that he had the word “freedom” tattooed on his chest.

When the then 23-year-old misjudged the speed of a jump at the Silver Star ski resort in British Columbia while helping prepare a course for national championships, onlookers knew the outcome would not be good.

“When I was in the air, they were already calling the ski patrol,” says Dueck.

Now an X Games gold medalist, Paralympic silver medalist and para-alpine downhill world champion (2009), Dueck’s relentless love for the sport of skiing is what inspired Whistler based producer/director Mike Douglas to create “The Freedom Chair,” which premiered at the Banff Mountain Film Festival on Wednesday.

The doctor who broke the news of his spinal cord injury was the parent of one of the kids Dueck coached. “He said I was going to kick ass in a wheelchair and be back in the mountains riding a sit ski,” says Dueck. “Knowing I had an opportunity to go back to where I belong, it made it palatable, made it digestible.”

Only a year after the accident, Dueck set himself the goal of competing as a para-alpine athlete at the 2010 Paralympics in Whistler. He went on to win silver in slalom but didn’t stop there. In the documentary, Dueck takes on extreme backcountry powder slopes in Chatter Creek, British Columbia, on his monoski.

“The wheelchair is like my pair of shoes, my sneakers…the monoski is my freedom chair,” explains the Canadian Para-Alpine Ski Team veteran.

“If you could ask him (Dueck) to describe what skiing is in one word, it’s freedom,” says Douglas, who admits he had tears in his eyes while he was editing. “One of the most powerful things about the film is simply Josh himself, his ability to tell his own story. He’s probably the most courageous person I have worked with.”

Douglas’s production company, Switchback Entertainment, created the 15-minute short with the Banff Mountain Film Festival in mind.

“The Banff film festival is pretty much known as the most prestigious mountain film fest in the world. For us it was always a goal to have the film play there,” says Douglas.

“It’s supposed to be an exciting, adventure film, yet evoke emotions and challenge people to find their passion in life, ” says Dueck, who plans to compete at the Sochi Paralympic Winter Games in 2014.