Author, filmmaker and, appropriately enough, skiing enthusiast Bill Kerig will close the Whistler Film Festival with his doc The Edge of Never.

Based on his book of the same name, and co-directed with CBS sports veteran Peter Schweitzer, the film recounts the true story of 15-year-old Kye Petersen, a Whistler resident who set out to ski the same route, on a mountain in France, that killed his father.

Kerig will be on hand at the closing gala, say festival organizers, who on Wednesday also named Jacob Tierney’s The Trotsky as the fest’s opening gala. The comedy stars Jay Baruchel as a teen boy who believes he is the reincarnation of the Russian revolutionary. It also features Colm Feore, Geneviève Bujold, Saul Rubinek and Michael Murphy.

Trotsky has been well-received during earlier stops at the Toronto, Atlantic and Tokyo festivals. Tierney will also attend his film’s gala.

‘While both are ‘coming-of-age’ stories, their perspectives are quite different yet equally compelling,’ said WFF artistic director Stacey Donen in a statement. The festival runs from Dec. 3-6.