SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (Sept. 17) - Moguls champion and local favorite Travis Cabral (South Lake Tahoe, CA) is shifting his energy and focus from the Torino Olympics in five months to the Sunday night premiere of the first movie he's helped make Sunday night. But he denies he’s going from skiing moguls to being a (movie) mogul.

Cabral was one of the filmmakers of the movie "Shadow in the Trees" which will be premiered as part of a fundraiser for the Tahoe Family Research Center. For $10, an individual gets a ticket to the premiere at Caesars Tahoe resort, plus a dinner and admission to the after-dinner party. Doors open at 5 p.m. PT at Circus Maximus, Caesars' main show room, and the movie starts at 6, Cabral said.

Cabral, the youngest U.S. moguls champion in history (15 when he won in 1999) and a double gold medalist two years ago when the championships were staged at nearby Heavenly resort, expects some teammates to be part of the gala opening as well as some major Hollywood talent.

"We'll have some Ski Team athletes on hand," he said Friday, "and Stephen Herrick, one of the great Hollywood directors - he made "Bill&Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "101 Dalmatians," "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "The Mighty Ducks," among others - will be there, too.

"It's really been quite a journey for us," Cabral said in the midst of final preparations. "You wouldn't believe how much time has gone into this. I've been on the phone for the past three weeks, even at our training camp down in Chile. People were calling all the time about when this would be done, or when that would be done...and now it's here."

He said the movie is “a supernatural thriller-slash-drama. It’s PG13 and it’s about a man whose father disappeared when he was 12. He disappeared mysteriously on a backpacking trip, and now, six years later, as he’s going into his life of a young adult, he returns to search to find out what happened, to put some closure to it for himself.”

So, which is harder, training for the moguls season – and perhaps his first Olympics – or breaking into behind-the-camera moviemaking? Tougher to ski moguls or be a mogul? “In a way, this is tougher than [ski] training. Actually, it’s a lot tougher,” he said, “because I’m having to deal with things I’ve never dealt with, but in skiing I’ve been doing it for so long and I have a routine. Now, I have to be a business guy, make sure everything’s right – yeah, on-the-job training – and picking up some real-world experience.”

Cabral said final decisions will be made on distribution and what’s next once they get through the grand opening weekend. “We’re taking it one step at a time,” he said. “Talk to me after the premier because right now I don’t know what’s going to happen, but talk to me right after the premier. Well, you won’t get me right away,” he laughed, “because when this weekend is over, I’m turning off my cell phone and do something else for a while.”