OVER THE TOP: TILT 2013 SET TO GET HEARTS PUMPING

It takes a lot to get the thrillseeking extreme sports enthusiast off the slopes or away from the waves. But the TILT Action Sports Film Festival has found a way – bring together some of the most cutting-edge sports action cinema in the world for 5 nights of indoor exhilaration.

TILT is the brainchild of Michael Lawrence, owner of the on-demand sports movie supplier, Garage Entertainment. As Festival Director, he oversaw submissions from all over the world before settling on the nine films that will screen nationally from November 11.

“We felt we needed a lightning rod of sorts to attract international filmmakers to what we do at Garage,” Lawrence says. “An opportunity to have their works shown on the bigscreen as part of a countrywide festival has proven a huge drawcard” The films will all be available for viewing online a week after the festival wraps.

Lawrence also points out that the availability of ultra-lite digital camera technology, such as the Action Cam range from the event sponsor Sony, ensures footage is not only totally immersive but also of a theatrical quality. “The emergence of these new cameras is breaking new ground in the sports film area,” he says.

TILT 2013 will kick off with McConkey, a Tribeca Film Festival entrant that documents the short life and thrilling times of freeski/base-jumping legend Shane McConkey. Over the subsequent evenings, TILT will screen works that feature different skillsets within the extreme sports field.

SKATE NIGHT: One of the most influential figures in modern sports cinema, Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z-Boys; Riding Giants), examines the creation of the modern skateboarding mythology in Bones Brigade, a look at the six teenage boys who bonded in the early 1980’s (among them Tony Alva and Tony Hawk; pictured top) and changed the sport forever. And Jason Rosenberg’s biographical study of inspirational pro-skateboarder Danny Way, called Waiting for Lightning, which includes Way’s now-legendary leap over the Great Wall of China.

SURF NIGHT: Already a cult favourite, Simon Lamb’s Serendipity recounts the story of Tony Hussein Hinde and Mark Scanlon, two Australian men who shipwrecked themselves in The Maldives in 1973 and would ultimately help define both the region and their own sense of spirituality through surfing. Also screening is the compilation film Innersection: Black, an experimental concept that utilises footage compiled by surfers and fans distilled into a feature-length film.

SNOW NIGHT: Matt Pain’s highly-acclaimed French/Canadian co-production Few Words tells the story of freestyle skiing pioneer, Candide Thevox; and, Eric Crosland’s and Dave Mossop’s breathtaking man-vs-nature take on existentialism, Into the Mind, featuring a lone skier (played by Joshua Pak) and the mental and physical struggle he undertakes to conquer the great peaks of the world.

SURF NIGHT 2: TILT 2013 closes out with a double celebration of the great Australian two-time world champion surfer, Mick Fanning. Following a rare  bigscreen showing of the short doco Fanning the Fire, TILT will screen the world premiere of Taylor Steele’s Missing, featuring Fanning on a surfing odyssey of the filmmaker’s planning.

The TILT Action Sports Film Festival begins November 11 in select theatres across Australia. Check the website for session times and tickets.