The 2013 Radical Reels action sports film tour filled Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City last night, February 28, 2013, with adrenaline-seeking outdoor junkies. Radical Reels featured some of the best extreme sports films that captured some epic air on skis and bikes, gnarly climbs, raging whitewater, untouched bike terrain, and other crazy yet incredible sports that left viewers with a major rush. Here are some of the highlights of the film tour.
Being There wowed the crowd with a group of free skiers taking their sport slope side and pulling off some incredible tricks among beautiful scenery. One of the skiers dislocated his shoulder while doing a practice jump but insisted on doing some of his astounding jumps and flips despite the pain he was having. He pulled it off and performed some flawless stunts.
Andreu Lacondeguy set up quite the bike-training compound outside the city of Barcelona in Lacon De Catalonia. The tricks he pulled on his mountain bike and dirt bike were jaw-dropping, and he made it look extremely fun. His excitement was contagious and made me long for spring days to get out on the mountain bike and attempt some outrageous jumps.
Of Souls + Water – The Shapeshifter had some amazing cinematography. Whitewater kayaker legend Ben Marr takes on the waves in some of northern Quebec’s most notorious rapids in the dark with a bright red, waterproof flare on the back of his kayak. It was pretty mesmerizing watching Marr attack the rapids enveloped in red waves.
Wanna Ride was a three-minute short with speed-riders Maxence Cavalde and François Bon performing an aerial duet in the French Alps. All I could think of was how much I wanted to be flying in the Alps with my skis along with them.
What do a wingsuit, a target and a man very passionate about human flight have in common? Wingsuit Downhill Target Punch would be the answer. Alexander Polli flies towards a special slalom gate to see if he can break the top off of a target. You could just feel the butterflies in your stomach as you watched him jump off a huge cliff and fly at crazy speeds to break the target.
The Rollerman was beyond entertaining. Jean-Yves Blondeau frightens, excites and blows many away in his futuristic bodysuit covered with wheels. He flies down mountain roads in this radical suit that looks like he’s straight out of a space/alien movie. I’m still wondering how he stopped after gaining so much momentum.
The films were fantastic and gripping as always. The films chosen for Radical Reels are always supreme on the big screen. It’d be quite the interesting thing to see these films in 3D. As if the adrenaline rush wasn’t enough without 3D, I’m sure it’d boost it up a notch if they were. Once again, Radical Reels didn’t disappoint, and the stoke meter is now even more high on getting outside to shred through snow, tear on some downhill mountain biking, and climbing hard and strong.
For a screening of Radical Reels 2013 near you, please visit the Banff Centre Web site.
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