Sweetgrass Hand Cut Premiere
By Ben Sturgulewski
A rabid tribal snow frenzy broke out in Aspen on Friday, with crazed locals foaming at the mouth upon witnessing tantalizing hints of the epic winter to come—snow starved eyes awoke to heaps of snow coating the upper reaches of the valley.
But what would have been a short-lived sense of anticipated winter shred euphoria was set in solid stoke-stone by the evening’s World Premiere of Sweetgrass Production’s freshman film, the Patagonia sponsored “HAND CUT,” which packed over 400 mountain brethren, young and old, into the world famous Wheeler Opera House. With the cumulative energy of this pack of savage pow-cannibals all demanding the first fluffy white meat of the year, expectations were high.
The show kicked off with an opening film presented by the Aspen Historical Society. It showcased the glamour and glory of Aspen Highlands in the 1970s, and the sloppy backflips and groovy “outerwear” had younger cannibals rolling on the
Everyone got more than their fair share of oh-so-sweet nostalgia. When Hand Cut began, however, the audience gorged themselves upon shot after shot of last season’s unprecedented backcountry powderfeast. Loyal natives cheered on local shred greats such as Nick Devore and the Cardamones, as well as many others as they ripped through stunning Colorado, BC, and Alaskan fresh. The manic symptoms of the summer’s repressed shredmania were soothed and harnessed by the film’s soft and beautiful exploration of the thing we covet the most—our snow. The unique blending of hard-backboned western history into the mix pushed the audience into a reflection on their own great white lust, and what it is that drives that endless appetite. Truthfully capturing the native culture of the mountains is Hand Cut’s true charm.
As the mass of satiated mountain heathens stumbled out of the theater, stomachs drunk and bulging from the shred, their sharpened teeth still dripping with saliva, they were met in the lobby by the perfect dessert: $2 beers and the blistering live deep country blues of Colorado local John-Alex Mason, who scored the film’s riveting soundtrack. Chaotic pagan dancing ensued, as the crowd shook their moneymakers until long after closing time in the name of their snow-gods. The pow-wow with John-Alex then moved to different venues until complete exhaustion prompted 4 a.m howls to Aspen’s waxing winter moon.
The world premiere a success and the snowlust of Aspen natives appeased, the Sweetgrass crew now travels on throughout Colorado and into the great American/Canadian West in search of more pure and primitive backcountry believers to bring into the fold. Check out the tour-dates at www.sweetgrass-productions.com. For the music man, check out www.johnalexmason.com.
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