OCTOBER 2008

CATCHING BIG AIR & BIG LAUGHS ON THE SLOPES

Cowell Theater

The world of skiing is dramatic, action-packed, and often a very serious subject for adventure and sports filmmakers. However, the shredders and powder hounds at Matchstick Productions (MSP) offer a different take on the exalted realm of professional skiers. The company’s most recent movie, Claim, comes to the Fort Mason Center’s Cowell Theater in October with a more lighthearted vision than those ultra serious ski chronicles that dominate cinedomes during the winter months.

Claim features stunning aerial maneuvers, breathtaking action sequences, and death-defying stunts on the slopes. Yet, the overall tone enjoys lighter moments of self-irony and even parodies the portentous cadences of certain heroic ski movies.

The stars of Claim are incredibly talented athletes who are also willing to laugh along with the audience while presenting scenes weighed down by the hyperbole, claims of superiority, and other clichés found all too frequently in beautifully photographed, but poorly scripted ski flicks.

MSP’s award-winning approach to filmmaking takes on new luster as Claim’s skiing superstars poke fun at themselves and the entire skiing industry. But all the levity doesn’t detract from the professional quality of the film, which features powerhouse shots on location in skiing meccas such as Whistler, BC, Chamonix, France, Alaska, and Aspen, CO. An especially impressive Chamonix segment combines paragliding off sheer mountain faces with daredevil skiing of nearly unimaginable capabilities.

“We have been doing this for over 15 years and we feel like with Claim we have created a masterpiece,” said executive producer Murray Weis. “This film is really going to blow some minds.”

Claim introduces 15-year-old ski phenomenon Sean Pettit, who co-stars with other prominent figures in skiing — Mark Abma, Ingrid Backstrom, Eric Hjorleifson, and TJ Schiller, to name a few. MSP captured some of the footage with high-definition, helicopter-mounted cameras for gut-wrenching realism in the close-up, ground-level, and airborne shots.

The Cowell Theater engagement of Claim promises fun and adventure of the highest order. See October 7 and www.skimovie.com for details.

— Claudia Willen

Image:
Claim: The Greatest Ski Movie Ever!
Courtesy Matchstick Productions