Last night was one for the books in the Big Apple. It was a packed house at the Beacon Theatre to witness the world premier of the highly anticipated Art of FLIGHT movie. Between red carpet madness, screaming fans,and an opera style venue, it was difficult to grasp that you were there to see one of the most progressive snowboard films to date, let alone the premier being held in one of the greatest cities in the world. You knew the hype was there when dapper executives were strolling around the lobby with their model girlfriends. There was also a huge attendance from the surf community, thanks to the Quiksilver pro in Long Beach, NY this week. It was actually amazing to see such a broad audience come together to witness a groundbreaking time in snowboarding, and the way it was captured. 

By Alex Nawrocky

 

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Travis on the mic for an interview on the red carpet. | Photo: Alex Nawrocky

From beginning to end, there was a real sense of beauty throughout the movie. I could say almost an orchestra… of snowboarding. The layout was somewhat like a journal taking you through a long winter, trip by trip. The natural lines were inspiring, especially grouped together with Travis, John J., and Lando. There's a reason why many of us are so passionate about this sport, because it's that much better when you can share it with your friends. That's what brought this movie together so well. You could say that The Art of FLIGHT was based around two years of Travis' life, but the fact that it incorporated so many different style snowboarders as a whole, really made it something beautiful to watch.  Anytime you can add legends like Jeremy Jones, and Nicolas Muller to the equation it's bound to be something special. Not to denote Travis' riding what-so-ever, since that was groundbreaking in itself. Even with all the different angles and POV cameras it's still hard to imagine what it must be like to drop into natural lines that have never been ridden before. Travis really shows you what years of devotion to the sport does, being able to carry the perfect speed into natural windlips and land into a 5 foot pocket of pow. 

The ultimate cherry on top last night was the incredible Dolby sound. The drama and energy of the sound carried from start to finish and helped ensure you were at the edge of your seat, as many were at the Beacon Theatre last night. 

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John Jackson and Mark Landvik enjoying the autograph session | Photo: Red Bull

In the end, there seemed to be some serious new found respect for our sport. Especially from the surfing community which helped mold our sport into what it has become today. Travis and friends just seemed to take it to one more level, and there's no telling what could be next after seeing such an astounding production. Much respect goes out to the large crew that made this film possible, which some tend to forget. It's when great minds come together, that something really amazing happens. In the words of Charles Darwin, "In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed". I think many of us now know who has now ultimately prevailed in our sport, taking it farther than ever before.

Check out The Art of Flight Premiere gallery

If you haven't seen the movie head over to iTunes to dowlaod your very own copy for only $9.99