PERFECT MOMENT /NUIT DE LA GLISSE Film Tour 08/09 - Electronic Press Kit Summary The film Perfect Moment : Never Ending
General informations about the movie
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The film director: Thierry Donard
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Synopsis
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Director’s comments
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La Nuit de la Glisse / Perfect Moment : History & Concept
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The European Film Tour 2008/09 : the film Premieres
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Perfect Moment Clothing
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Contacts
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List of appendix
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Perfect Moment Entertainments
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General informations on the film
Producer:
PERFECT MOMENT ENTERTAINMENT SARL
Director:
Thierry Donard
Cameramen : Ryan Casey, Bertrand Delapierre, Thierry Donard, Michel Fauquet, Simon Favier, Marcio Giannubilo, Larry Haynes, Rick Jakovitch, Jerk Looman, Guido Perrini, Mercer Richards, Lionel Sarran, Fred-Arne Wergeland Riders:
WINGSURF
Josh Angulo
SURF:
Jonathan Gonzales
Marlon Lipke
Garrett McNamara
Tamaki Sugihara
Ryzal Tanjung
David Valladares
Gony Zubizarreta BODYBOARD
Eunata Aguirre
SKI
Jeff Annetts
Thierry Donard
Ane Enderud
Karsten Gefle
Hugo Harrison
Pierre-Yves Leblanc
Matt Reardon
Fred Syversen
Kaj Zachrisson TELEMARK
Michael Devor
SNOWBOARD
Matt Annetts
Xavier De Le Rue
Simon Favier
Lene Nordemoen
KITESURF
Malik Bouchenafa
Gisela Pulido
WINGSUIT
James Boole
Jean-Noël Itzstein
Robert Pecnik
Length:
2 parts: Testimony 52’ + Never Ending 52’
Locations:
Alaska, Chamonix, Saint Moritz, Cap Vert, Canada, Brésil, Tahiti, Hawaii, Bali , Italie, Suisse, Espagne.
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THIERRY DONARD
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Born on November 3rd, 1961 in the Vosges. Puts his first skis when he is 4 and wins his first contest at 6. High level competition until 1988. Participates in the World Cups from 1980 until 1988. First contact with the Cinema at 13. He films with a Super8 Beaulieu, a documentary on eagles. Is doing many commercial shootings, as a stunt, then as a director. References: Ogilvy , Les Producers, Films Masters , Warren Miller, Gédéon, McCann-Erickson, Tamir Cohen, Philips, Gillette, Nissan, Visa, Atol, Framepool, Canal+,France Television, Rai,Telefonica,NHK Japan, Canon, Nestle.
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Synopsis The 2008/2009 edition has been broken down into 2 parts comprising one film. Two complementary parts which have required 25 months of work, this is why NUIT DE LA GLISSE/PERFECT MOMENT did not release a film in 2007. “We felt the need to develop the way we process our footage, to concentrate distribution on digital technology and to revitalize this event that since 1981, has crossed all fashions and generations barriers by adapting to new developments” The first part: TESTIMONY (52’) is treated as a documentary based on the moving, real-life accounts of extraordinary athletes. We enter into their world and in the interviews they describe their joys, their pain, some recounting experiences that span the last five years. They said: « We were all there in the mountains because we loved it» Kaj Zackrisson – Skier
« For me, the kitesurf is a sport passion» Malik Bouchenafa – Kitesurfer
« Freeride is not about being crazy, it is about being in control» Lene Nordermoen - Snowboarder
« In the mountains, you have to feel something, you have to respect, in a way, some stronger forces» Xavier De Le Rue – Snowboarder
« When you ride a wave and stand up, the way it pushes you, it’s the best feeling ever» Rizal Tanjung - Surfer
« Freeriding is like carving a mountain, a little bit like an artist would with his paintbrush» Matt Reardon – Skier
« Snowboarding is freedrom, it’s a way to get away from everything» Matt Annetts – Snowboarder
« It was my longest ride that has been filmed»
Hugo Harrison – Skier
« time stops Inside in the wave and all of a sudden you’re out, it’s an incredible and indescribable expérience» Garrett McNarama – Big wave Surfer
Some of these quotes have meaning beyond sport itself, bordering on the philosophical.
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We begin to understand that their passion is exceptionally pure, for example, the surfer Garrett McNamara who speaks about seeking out new giant waves at all costs for himself and his family, a crucial quest that he will pursue until the end of his days. This fairytale ideal helps the audience to be able to gain a different perspective on life during these difficult times. This first part transports us into the real world of ‘glisse’ sports. Recounting their impossible pasts, the athletes suddenly become merely human again. The door to their world opens up to us all, making it easy to identify with them and preparing us to see through their eyes, which is what is about to happen in the second part Never Ending… ***** NEVER ENDING NEVER ENDING quickly plunges us into the action on an accelerated rhythm with onboard cameras attached in scarcely seen before positions and other cameras getting in really close; the motto of the cameramen is to get with the athlete and to the heart of the action, to build trust between them but also to allow the audience to share these sensations. This film pushes back the barriers of what has been produced and filmed up to now, offering us a totally different vision of things from what we have seen before, in its image processing and its content which sometimes surpasses fiction.
The film starts very strongly with the jump made by Fred Syversen on the 18th of March 2008. That morning, the Norwegian Fred Syversen only meant to make the most of some exceptional conditions. In great physical shape at 42 years old, Fred is poised on the ridge when the start signal is given. He had ample time to spot the line he should take on this virgin slope, the kind of slope which all freeriders dream about expressing themselves on. After 500m of admirable skiing, he heads towards the helicopter and drops a 107m cliff right in front of the cameras. In the bomb hole made by the impact, he has no choice but to wait to be dug out, without so much as a scratch, let alone any breaks. Such strong emotions run right through the second part, notably with Xavier De Le Rue. Xavier, 4-time boardercross world champion and recently crowned Freeride World Champion, is taken in an avalanche whilst on another production in the same valley that we were filming in at the time. We reconstituted the entirety of this shoot to end up on a powerful moment, one where Xavier is able to share his experience of Freeriding and show us its dangers. A second film crew was concurrently filming in the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia. On a rhythm diametrically opposed to that of the mountains, surfers Jonathan Gonzales, Gony Zubizarreta, Eunate Aguirre, Marlon Lipke, David Valladares and Tamaki Sugihara, on the other side of the world from the Alps, lift us out of the cold and the drama of the mountains. And even though all dramas end well, there is nothing like a bit of sunshine and magnificent waves at the ends of the earth to take us away from the troubles of everyday life. Here too, men and women play with the elements, taking us into a deep blue dream. Once again, we catch up with our Vikings who are sniffing out good snow near Engadine for a session during THE winter season when the snow was so light that the riders needed face protection to keep from choking, enormous rooster tails spraying like avalanches in their wake. Time and again, the team makes the journey between the Mentawais and the Alps, then spring arrives and the shoot turns towards Andalusia to film the young kitesurfing prodigy, Gisela Pulido. Just turned 14 and already 4-time world champion, it is at Tarifa, the Mecca of kitesurfing that we catch up with her. She shows us the wonders of this country and her freestyle sessions make us quickly understand the supremacy she holds over her sport.
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We always save the best for last and the finale represents the start of a dream for the director, Thierry Donard, who, in 1992, had already attempted to film a flying man capable of landing without opening his parachute in 'Pushing the Limits'. We are in the mountains of the Mont Blanc range, three men fly over peaks, play with ridges, flying back and forth. The famous Arete de Peuterey that starts at the summit of Mont Blanc and finishes 3000m below in Val Veny makes an ideal back-up playground; it was understudy to filming this section between the buildings of Singapore but without the necessary means and authorisation, the Alps, the Chamonix Valley and the Courmayeur Italian side were obvious stand-ins. The idea arose to film this just with head cams! The results are unprecedented and it is as if we were flying with these "wingsuiters", shaving the granite walls and glaciers of the range and frolicking 2 metres away from ridgelines...a mountaineer hanging off a wall could not believe his eyes and is still trembling. Jean-Noel Itzstein, James Boole and Robert Pecnik conclude this Nuit de la Glisse edition with the beauty of a dream that is as old as man himself.
108 minutes on a progressive rhythm. At the end of this projection you will be much wiser to the motivations of these athletes and you are sure to understand this world better after explanations from the psychologists invited to try to compile psychological profiles of these athletes, their passion for nature, for sensations and 'La Glisse'.
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Director’s comments Living in nature and following her rhythm for over 30 years to film the exploits of these passionate dreamers, I have witnessed the decline in Mother Nature’s health, mainly caused by human action. Like all members of my team, we feel responsible: we use helicopters to get us to the top of snowy peaks just to live some great moments, we use aeroplanes to transport us to the other side of the planet, our skis are made of fiber glass and we still don't know how to recycle that...
Since I was small, I have been in a club for environmental protection and at 10 years old, I cleaned up illegally dumped rubbish with my brother in the forests surrounding our village. I have made films talking about respect, something that is crucial yet sadly lacking in our culture. I show images of a nature that is intact and beautiful to my eyes, like my childhood dreams. When the snow covers the mountains, I do pollute them while filming but I have chosen to use this path to try and talk about nature through the image. Sometimes I show my films to youngsters who cannot see past the horizon of their daily lives, who do not know waves or mountains and who dream about having a different life. That is why this year, for the first time, I have opted for a digital format, a real revolution shooting with cameras crammed with electrics, a real challenge! Goodbye to cameras with polyester film, laboratories with chemical baths and welcome to the struggle of getting to grips with cameras that do not work because of the cold or water...
I also made the choice of distributing my films through the Digital 2K process, through a Belgian company XDC, who have equipped 500 cinemas in Europe. It is a risky gamble because at first, this reduces my distribution by 70%! But I believe in this technology that no longer requires the 35mm copies that are made from almost unrecyclable materials and that weigh 40kg and require a lot of transport to get them to cinemas. Simply a solid Internet connection is required for the film to be projected onto a screen. This is my effort to offset my energy expenditure, I am lucky to have the chance to raise awareness about this to many people and that is important as well.
Thierry Donard
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The Nuit de la Glisse / Perfect Moment : History & Concept
• History La Nuit de la Glisse was born at the end of the 70s out of a passionate group of inspired visionaries, giving birth to a true social phenomenon, today known under the French term . Today, La Nuit de la Glisse embodies the origins of this trend and since the year 2000 is distributed abroad under the brand PERFECT MOMENT. By gathering together all Glisse fans to one common and unique event for over 27 years across the whole of Europe, La Nuit de la Glisse – Perfect Moment has positioned itself as a legitimate, recognizable brand. This event consists, above all, of a previously unreleased film featuring ‘glisse’ sports such as surfing, skiing, skydiving, skateboarding, etc filmed in breathtaking settings all around the planet.
• Concept La Nuit de la Glisse/Perfect Moment has succeeded in establishing a network at the biggest and most prestigious cinema halls in Europe. Their preview-premieres are also key gatherings for galvanizing the public at the right moment of the year when millions of people are dreaming of ‘glisse’ sports and escaping. It has always used the latest technology to broadcast its productions to the highest standards. This also gives the public a chance to see images on screens, over 30m wide, that are unique in their genre and that transform the projection into a spectacle. The films not only tell a story, they closely relate the images on show to the men and women who make up ‘the riders’ and who wait for months, sometimes years, for the giant hollow wave or the perfectly snow-loaded slope that allows them to express their passion to the fullest. That is when the audience gets involved, encouraging them, whistling, applauding and identifying with the riders. When a cinema hall like the Grand Rex in Paris with its 3000 spectators, the Coliseum in Oslo with its 1100 seats or even the small but legendary Vox cinema in Chamonix with its 350 places transforms into a stage, the audience are proud to participate in such a special event. La Nuit de la Glisse/Perfect Moment is a fast-growing medium with a very strong panEuropean network of cinematographic broadcasting; it has gradually become the most powerful and high-quality medium in the ‘glisse’ world, in absence of any real competition.
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8 European Premières to launch the film :
December 4th and 6th
OSLO / Norway
The Colosseum
December 16th 2008
BARCELONE / Spain
Espacio Telefonica
December 18th 2008
PARIS / France
The Max Linder
December 20th 2008
CHAMONIX / France
The Vox
January 31rst 2008
MUNICH / Germany
The Deutschen Museum
And soon to come: London, Madrid, Bergen…
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Perfect Moment Clothing
The Perfect Moment brand is a result of pure spirit, passion and dedication to the pleasures and challenges on and off the mountain. Combining fashion and technical mountain wear, we want our customers to feel that a Perfect Moment jacket looks good and also functions just as well on top of a mountain as downtown New York or Paris.
Our concept is to meet the real needs of freeriding, to tackle the hardest outdoor conditions, with style, but without sacrificing comfortable yet resistant materials. With more than 25 years of experience, filming world class athletes in tough conditions in the mountains, we continuously push ourselves to improve all aspects of our products to make them even better for our customers. All our products are thoroughly tested by our team of professional skiers, snowboarders and mountain guides, which with their unique experience and demands in terms of quality, functionality and style are a priceless resource to the company when it comes to improving and developing our products.
Distributed in France, Switzerland, USA, Japan, Russia, Norway (..) the Perfect Moment Collection is made for freeriders by freeriders... Now, anyone can identify with these exclusive athletes and achieve their own Perfect Moment.
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Contacts:
[email protected]
List of appendix -
Posters of the film
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Data of the pictures available for the press (and mention of the crédits)
Please visit our websites: Clothing >
www.perfectmoment.com New collection Men, Women and Kids now available
For our photo and film productions >
www.nuitdelaglisse.com
All our dvds and more on sale.
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