Why Joy Doesn’t Need to Make Sense

Swiss filmmaker Laurent De Martin’s newest offering, Inefficient joy_, doesn’t offer conclusions or clean answers; and that’s exactly the point. Instead, it leaves space. Space to sit with why skiing still matters, why flow can outweigh performance, and why some pursuits are worth protecting from optimization altogether.

In an era where everything is measured, compressed, and accelerated, LDM’s film is a reminder that not all value can be calculated; and that some of the most meaningful experiences only reveal themselves when we slow down enough to feel them.

If it leaves you questioning, rewatching, or simply wanting to step back into the mountains with a little less urgency, then inefficient joy_ has already done its job.

We caught up with LDM to talk about his intentions with the project; and why making it felt necessary.

I’m LDM, a freeskier for more than 15 years now… feelin’ OLD :D — movie producer/director, and founder of the young ski brand Simply. I’m from the Région Dents du Midi, on the Swiss side of Les Portes du Soleil.

I started making amateur movies with friends under the name Awone Films. After that, I moved into slopestyle competitions and spent four years on the Swiss freeski team, up until the first Olympics in 2014. I missed that opportunity due to injury, and a very strong new generation of young riders. :)

After that, I focused fully on filming; first with Gypsy Feelin, then four seasons with Level 1. Eventually, I started producing my own local films (From Switzerland With Love / Simply). Three years ago, I had the opportunity to create a ski brand here in Switzerland, which really allowed me to push my vision of skiing and creativity. Inefficient Joy is the third movie we’ve made since the brand was born.

Skiing has always been my dream, and my life.

At the beginning, we weren’t trying to define anything. We were just trying to understand why we keep doing this at all.

While making the film, we started questioning why we invest so much time, energy, and care into something that’s objectively inefficient; all that effort for a few seconds of footage, or even a single turn. That question only really took shape later, when we watched the rushes and talked through it together.

Almost as a joke, we asked ChatGPT: “What are we actually doing?” Seeing our process described in a very factual, external way helped us gain distance. When it responded with something like, “I can’t define joy,” it clicked.

We realized we weren’t chasing an answer; we were trying to reveal a feeling that exists, but can’t really be explained. So “inefficient joy” became the question itself: why does something so irrational, so demanding, still feel necessary? And how can a film make space for that feeling without trying to define it?

I think joy has to be inefficient. At the same time, everyone is trying to make everything as efficient as possible these days. Time feels more limited, yet we still want to experience those rare, powerful days in the mountains.

For me, it’s closely tied to filming. Every season, I spend so much time preparing a single shot that, in today’s society — obsessed with productivity and output — it can feel kind of stupid. But that’s exactly the point.

Because it gives the sentences we really want to resonate the space to breathe. You need time to think about what’s being said before moving on.

We also loved the contemplative vibe. It truly reflects what spending time in the mountains feels like. Most of the day is quiet. It’s still. That’s the reality.

Just the beauty of what we’re doing, and the environment we’re in. It might sound cheesy, but skiing has always been about aesthetics for me; from the riding itself to how it’s filmed.

I’ve always been very close to how my skiing is shown on camera, and this film was an opportunity to push that idea to the maximum.

It didn’t really shift anything. The movie shows how I actually ski most days; my vision of skiing. It’s about flow and style, not performance.

I ski whatever terrain and conditions are there. I can spend a full day without doing a single air trick and still feel like I skied to the maximum.

But in the end… what is performance, really?

It’s always about responding to conditions. Mood can be worked on, but conditions are much harder to control; especially with increasingly tough winters in Europe.

To be honest, the narration came after filming. During the winter, we filmed a lot — maybe too much :) — and the edit felt like assembling a puzzle, which was really fun.

Sound was extremely important, and that influence came largely from Jackson, our DOP. He comes from the cinema world and really wanted to push the quality further.

Yes; the flow and the fun that any skier can have, from a beginner to a professional freeskier.

If people start questioning themselves, or feel the need to rewatch it, I think that’s already a win :)

We take inspiration from a lot of places, but personally, I’m very influenced by snowboarding. Hillton movies have been a big inspiration, as well as Korua Shapes films.

Arthur Longo and Korua, especially, for the carving and side-hit vibe.

Off snow… there’s just too much to be inspired by :)

inefficient joy_ doesn’t offer answers, and doesn’t try to. Instead, it sits in the spaces between turns, in the silence of the mountains, and in the slow accumulation of moments that refuse to be optimized.

What emerges isn’t a manifesto, but a feeling: that skiing, at its best, isn’t about output or performance, but presence. About choosing flow over efficiency, care over speed, and time over results. In a world increasingly obsessed with productivity, inefficient joy_ reminds us that some pursuits are meaningful precisely because they don’t make sense.

If the film leaves you reflective, or simply wanting to slow things down the next time you click into your skis, then it’s already done exactly what it set out to do.

Watch the pièce artistique below; and take a moment to sit with it.