Nicolas Müller, one of the snowboarders featured in "Neverland," is shown jumping in Japan. "It was like finding Neverland," Müller said of location scouting in Japan. The film will be showing in Juneau at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24 at Centennial Hall.
Story last updated at 9/23/2009 - 5:04 pm
"Neverland" is the name of the home of Peter Pan and the lost boys who never grew up. It's also the name of the newest production from Absinthe Films. Filmed in Alaska, Europe, Japan and other locations around the world, the film follows several snowboarders and features their snow play and connection with nature that keeps them forever young.
"Neverland" was co-produced by Justin Hostynek and Patrick Armbruster (Brusti) and features backcountry and urban riding by Nicolas Müller, Travis Rice, J.P. Solberg, Romain deMarchi, DCP, Marc Frank Montoya, Annie Boulanger, Kevin Pearce, Jules Reymond, Marie-France Roy, Wolfgang Nyvelt, Kevin Pearce, Gigi Rüf, Cale Zima, Bode Merrill, Eero Ettala, Wille Yil-Luoma, and others.
Müller said filming for the movie in Japan was "super fun." The crew lived without Internet or cell phones and hiked each day into the snow fields looking for places to shoot. The result was an opening of Müller jumping off of powdery pillows and riding through the trees.
"It was like finding Neverland," Müller said. "The minute we left the hotel, we were in our own world. We hiked off the road and we were just like kids, you know?"
Hostynek said the film benefited from having a few "Peter Pans" on the crew while filming was taking place.
"They encouraged everyone else to follow that path," Hostynek said. "It was cool to plant the seed of the title early on and see what grew out of it. It really resonated with some people and came out in the film without really trying too hard."
"Neverland" is currently touring the U.S., Canada and Europe. The film will be shown in Juneau at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24 at Centennial Hall. Tickets are $10. Absinthe Films will use the tour to spread awareness of environmental and social issues important to snowboarders and will donate $2 from each ticket sold to support nonprofit social and environmental organizations. Proceeds from the Juneau showing will benefit the Juneau Watershed Partnership. Attendees are asked to help the cause by using alternative methods of transportation to the event.
For more information about "Neverland," visit absinthe-films.com.
