Matchstick Productions: Push and Pull

When Fall rolls around, I always get an excited feeling in my stomach, because Summer is over and Winter is soon to follow. I think ski film producers get that same feeling, because they always begin their premiere tours in September. Now I know that a lot of you are not as into skiing (or any snow sport for that matter) as much as I am, but that doesn’t mean you can’t share this magic. This year, our boys at Matchstick Productions one-upped even their most prolific previous films. I was privileged enough to grow up in MSP Land (a.k.a. Crested Butte, CO), so I have been privy to Matchstick’s constant evolution, refinement, and limit-pushing for the past 15 or so years. Following on the success of last year’s double feature ‘The Hit List,’ and ‘The Hit List Re-mix,’ MSP chose to produce another tandem release. This year it’s ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’— ‘Push’ is quite possibly the best effort I have seen to date as far as capturing the true and pure essence of the sport of skiing– as it stands today– understanding all-along where its roots lie. ‘Pull’s’ draw is that it is edited in concert with the athletes themselves– so they get to decide how their segments are put together. The ‘Push’ soundtrack is amazing– with tracks from bands like Deathcab for Cutie, Wolfmother, the athletes are world-class– with skiers like Simon Dumont, Shane McConkey, Mark Abma, and Rory Bushfield, and the Locations will make you want to book a flight tonight– Japan, China, Norway, Terrace B.C., Aspen CO, and Whistler B.C. to name a few. Enjoy.