9.18.11

Montreal is a beautiful city. I arrived here two nights ago. That was on Friday. My friends Nick Waggoner and Zac Ramras of Sweetgrass Productions asked me if I could make it up to the IF3 film festival in Montreal. They weren’t going to be able to make it and asked if I could present their new film Solitaire for them. I graciously accepted. I’m not only friends with these guys. I’m a big fan of their work. Besides, I’ve been itching to explore deeper in Montreal since I came here last month.

After a quick check through immigration, about an hour north of Jeffersonville, VT, I was on my way to The City of Mary or Ville-Marie as it was originally named. I rolled into the hotel around 10pm. By this city’s standards that was early. There was a line outside the hotel full of primped up girls and ex-quarterback looking dudes with spray-on tans. I wasn’t sure if I was at the right place or not. It all made sense when I found out that the club attached to the hotel was hosting a party with the cast of Jersey Shore. Awesome.

I dropped my stuff off in the room and quickly descended back down to the lobby. I grabbed directions from the front desk agent Raul and I was off. I made my way towards St. Laurent street. The only thing I knew was Red Bull/Tanner Hall were hosting a gig of sorts. I was interested in checking out Cali P who was playing the show. There is a possibility I’ve seen them before many years ago. If I did though, I couldn’t remember.

The show was cool. There were times Cali P reminded me of O Rappa. They are one of my favorite Brasilian groups. Overall a great mixture of lyrically charged reggae, dancehall and other island vibes.

The first night set a good precedent of seeking out cool spots in town. I spent the last few days exploring. I spent some time walking through a few old churches (one of my favorite things to do), seeking out art and reading as many random historical plaques as I could find.

IF3 itself has also been a great experience. I spent quite a bit of time sitting and watching ski movies yesterday. Here are some of the highlights of things that really caught my eye:

*Solitaire by Sweetgrass Productions – amazing cinematography

*Attack of La Nina by MSP – good all around stoke

*Nothing Else Matter by Legs of Steel – killer triple jump sequence

*Episode 3 by Real Skifi – fun random shit by Finnish kids

Sweetgrass ended up winning the IF3 Palm for Best Cinematography. Congrats to them! They deserve it. Solitaire really created emotions of adventure through their imagery. For me that is what is really intriguing about their work. In this production it was the underlying story and theme of searching and exploration as humans. Watching it I thought about one thing – Searching. For me that is a big deal. That is why I live in my rig. That is why I drive.

There is a big world out there. And I want to see it.

Mission Montreal accomplished.

I’m packing up the rig to head back to VT tonight. I have to drop off the van early in the AM. We are going to be putting Telemark Skier Magazine logos all over it for the winter.

Thanks for taking the time to check in.

–JM