PUSH WORLD PREMIERE: Whistler's Round House lodge floods with athletes, fans
Last night, as the sun set and the faintest of premature flurries fell on the Coastal Cascades, the Whistler Gondola brought fans, athletes, and crew of Matchstick Productions to the top of Whistler Mountain for the world premiere of PUSH in the Round House Lodge. But the evening was just as much a celebration of the athletes as a film showing, in a location where the locals are known for charging hard both on the mountain and off.
"Whistler is so cool. Everybody is always so fired up here. Everybody gets after it," says INGRID BACKSTROM, whose Norway trip with RORY BUSHFIELD and Eric Hjorleifson is one of the most complete and well-rounded segments of the film.
The event began with drinks, hors d’oeuvres, an autograph signing session, and an introduction of all the skiers in the film and the MSP crew: Steve Winter, Murray Wais, Scott Gaffney, and Riley Poor, among several others.
But the highlight of the night was still the film. PUSH showcases the personality of Backstrom, the versatility of Hjorleifson, the ridiculousness of Mike Wilson, the switch double back, rock skiing, and snowman slicing of Bushfield, the youth and energy of SIMON DUMONT and SAMMY CARLSON, and the flow of Eric Pollard.
The theme of the film, and to what Winter frequently gave tribute, is the athletes that every year, continue to push it.
"We feel like the athletes push everything," says Winter. "What we tried to accomplish came from what they were doing. You see how hard they push it and how they get hurt and we tried to capture that."
