“McCONKEY” SELLS OUT ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT PRESTIGIOUS TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
DOCUMENTARY BIOPIC DRAWS ATHLETES, FANS, FRIENDS AND INDUSTRY LEADERS TO FIRST-EVER PUBLIC DEBUT OF LATEST FILM FROM RED BULL MEDIA HOUSE
NEW YORK, NY (April 21, 2013) – The World Premiere of “McConkey” brought together a cross-section of film industry elite, sports legends, and friends and family today at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, where the film was selected as a Spotlight film in its 12th festival season. The film has four screenings at the Festival, with a fifth screening added due to demand. “McConkey” celebrates the life of one of the world’s ultimate innovators, Shane McConkey, a pioneer in freestyle skiing and BASE jumping. In the latest film from Red Bull Media House in association with Matchstick Productions, Shane’s legacy was center stage.
The cast and crew who attended the premiere included Shane’s wife and Executive Producer, Sherry McConkey as well as Shane’s father, Jim McConkey, who himself was a ski film legend in the 1950s and 1960s. Together they witnessed as hundreds of new and old fans of Shane discovered and rediscovered Shane’s passion for living life to the fullest. Red carpet arrivals included the film’s five directors and fellow cast members such as companion and ski BASE jumper JT Holmes, who was with Shane on many of his pioneering adventures.
“This is the quality of film that we need more of, and with McConkey, everyone can gain from this. As sad as it is in the end, it still leaves you with great feelings of joy and hope,” Cathy Runyan-Svacina, a World Premiere Audience Member who also shared her sentiments for the film during the Q&A session following the premiere. “What the film leaves us is that a life, any life, without passion is not really a life. And I hope everyone remembers that because to me he personified that in every aspect and it’s such a beautiful legacy to leave.”
The World Premiere brought with it a spirited mix of emotions and shared ideals as Shane’s legacy to his sports and colleagues was revealed to a mainstream audience.
“Shane said skiing was for everybody, and how you want to ski is up to you. He followed his heart and was driven with such a passion.” Sal Masekela, host of the Red Bull Signature Series on NBC.
Joining Masekela at the premiere was Karina Hollekim, the world’s famous female BASE jumper who flew in from Norway. “What’s special about this movie for someone who’s not into action sports at all is just about seeing the love, the affection and the passion for life. To find something that makes you happy, something that makes you want to get up every morning and attack life with a huge smile.”
The film’s five directors attended the premiere and were able to celebrate their strong collaboration over the last five years, including Rob Bruce (Brolly Pictures), Scott Gaffney (Matchstick Productions), Murray Wais (Matchstick Productions), Steve Winter (Matchstick Productions) and David Zieff. Each director played a significant role in the project’s evolution with four of them having worked with Shane throughout his ski film career, and others only knowing him through the footage he left behind.
“Shane would be massively appreciative of all the lengths that everyone is going to for this film,” shared Steve Winter, director and producer on the film from Matchstick Productions. “He wouldn’t look at this and be like ‘of course you’re making a movie about my life’, he’d look at it and say ‘this is really awesome that everyone is doing this for me!’”
The film marks the first 2013 release from Red Bull Media House, a global media company headquartered in Salzburg, Austria.
