Jindabyne Parties Hard for Go Seek Premiere
Go Seek, the 2011 movie from Transfer and Reason Films, premiered at the Jindabyne Cinema last night to a full house of excited Australians. The crowd hung off every shot, and the anticipation that has been building over the past few weeks overflowed into hoots and hollers as each trick dropped.
Transfer Snowboard Magazine | Alex Cameron
Jake McCarthy and Jye Kearney, the two Aussie stars of Go Seek, with friends. All photos from the night by Ben Hansen.
The Jindabyne premiere of Go Seek was destined to be special night; the stars seemed to align as Australian snowboarders gathered to kick off the start of another season. The event brought the country’s best riders together with the broader shred community for a classic old-fashioned cinema premiere. Fun early season riding, the anticipation of a bumper season ahead, and a willingness to celebrate the achievements of snowboarding down under all conspired to fill the crowd with an excited energy.
The level of anticipation first became apparent when people began asking Transfer’s editor, Russell Holt, if it was too late to get tickets the moment he stepped out of his car in Jindabyne. Even though the event started at 8pm, the cinema foyer was packed by 7.30pm.
The balcony out the front of the cinema began to host the overflow of fans, and before long it had become a full-blown party. For many, it was the first time this season that they had seen old friends and acquaintances from previous years. Transfer helped out by calling in the DJ KNOWS crew who were driving the Red Bull Party Truck to crank some tunes. As the music played, everyone gathered out the front set about catching up, assisted by the goon bags and suspicious looking cigarettes being passed around.
By 8.30pm, everyone was in the cinema, and it was packed. The Transfer crew had sold over 200 tickets, only then to find out there were 178 seats. People were standing up the back, sharing seats and sitting in the aisles when Russ Holt began throwing free merchandise from Oakley, Burton, Forum, Dragon, Capita and Nitro into the crowd. Like the bursting of a dam wall, this released the crowd’s excitement and a full-on scrum ensued. When the dust finally settled and everyone sat back down, Richie Carroll was nursing a dislocated shoulder – time for the film!
Watching the movie was surreal. Seeing snowboarding, in many cases by a rider who was there at the cinema, on a big screen among friends is an incredible experience. Usually when you sit in a cinema to watch a movie there is an unspoken agreement among the cinemagoers that you remain quiet to focus on the film. Not last night. As every name or face came up on the screen, the crowd erupted in hoots and howls, and with every hammer the screams got louder. At the venue, everyone had a great view and was feeding off the experience of snowboarding on the big screen, which was only occasionally obscured by goon bags or beers being passed around the crowd. Quite impressively, someone managed to pull off an anonymous vomit in the cinema during the film, to the despair of the cleaner afterwards.
When the title credits appeared and the lights came on, the cinema exploded with applause. The general consensus is that the film rules! With a different focus to last year’s Made You Look, it is jam-packed with epic rails, jibbing, creative riding and Australian snowboarding culture. Immediately after the film, the riders were the center of attention, receiving congratulatory back slaps, hair tussles and high fives from friends and fans.
The movie premiere epitomised ‘a good time had by all’. Not only did everyone leave having shared a classic celebration of Aussie snowboarding, but they also had a copy of Transfer’s Issue 7, a copy of Go Seek and free gear from the sponsors. For the over eighteens, the party moved straight to Clancy’s cocktail bar at the Banjo Patterson Hotel, where everyone received a free Aqwa shot on arrival.
The official after-party went off. The community celebrated the achievements of its own riders and filmmakers and chatted excitedly about the season ahead. Friends caught up after having spent summers away from the mountains, and everyone partied well into the night. The DJ KNOWS crew rocked the speakers all night, and when the lights came on at 2am, the place was about as full as when everyone arrived at 9.30pm. Needless to say, many a sore head was nursed around Jindabyne this morning. It was quite simply a great night all round. Big thanks goes out to the Jindabyne Cinema and the Banjo Patterson Hotel.
Click on any image to open the gallery from the night
