candide - Quiksilver Press

,
is the story of a pioneer of modern skiing,
who became one of the most successful and
talented freestyle skiers in the world, Candide
Thovex.
Presents
TRIPLE WINNER OF THE X-GAMES, FREERIDE WORLD
CHAMPION AND FREESKIING LEGEND CANDIDE TAKES
YOU ON A JOURNEY TO DISCOVER THE MOST BEAUTIFUL
SNOW LOCATIONS, CRISS-CROSSING THE GLOBE FOR THE
PAST TWO YEARS, TO SHOOT SOME OF FREESKIING’S MOST
SENSATIONAL SEQUENCES EVER FILMED. INTERSPERSED
WITH STORIES TELLING HIS FABULOUS CAREER, FEW WORDS
WILL HELP YOU DISCOVER, OR REDISCOVER, ONE OF THE
MOST RESPECTED PERSONALITIES OF THE MOUNTAIN
WORLD.
,
is a film about one of the most fascinating and
iconic modern day skiing figures, Candide
Thovex.
A PIONEER AND STAR OF FREESTYLE SKIING, HE HAS WON PRETTY
MUCH EVERYTHING, STARTING WITH THE US WINTER X-GAMES, WHICH
HE WON 3 TIMES IN 3 DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES (2000, 2003, 2007). THE
PRODIGY FROM LA CLUSAZ, BECAME A GLOBALLY RESPECTED ICON OF
FREESKIING BY ADDING THE WORLD FREERIDE CHAMPION TITLE TO HIS
BELT IN 2010. THIS WAS HIS FIRST RETURN TO THE CIRCUIT 3 YEARS
AFTER A SERIOUS BACK INJURY, CAUSED BY A FALL ON A HUGE 45M
AIR IN LA CLUSAZ THAT NEARLY ENDED HIS SKIING CAREER.
In addition to his unique sporting career, Candide has always
had a keen sense of his own image. As a precursor to this, he
shot his own skiing exploits, producing the excellent films: Rastafaride 1-7 and his Candide Kamera episodes, making him a cult
figure for an entire community of Mountain Enthusiasts.
With cameras in hand and 50 kg of material on their backs, the team
launched an assault on the most remote snow sanctuaries to capture
the incredible skiing of Revelstoke and Golden in Canada, the Aravis in
France and throughout the Alps. The film shows the fascinating wild
and beautiful scenery of this long expedition. After shooting thousands
of hours of footage, Matt Pain and Candide hid themselves away for four
months in their studio lair at the Quiksilver HQ in St. Jean de Luz to edit
the film.
With striking images from his career and a collection of some extraordinary action sequences, ‘Few Words’ tells the story of Candide, a discreet
and authentic character, who has built his reputation on skis rather than
on words. Produced by Candide Thovex and his long time sponsor Quiksilver, written and directed by the Kiwi Matt Pain, Few Words will have
its world premiere screening in Paris on October 20th at the Grand Rex
and will be available for sale by Winter 2012, following an international
tour.
His 10-year career at the highest level stretches between his
first victory in the X-Games big air and his incredible success
on the Freeride stage. After many operations to heal both knees
and shattered lumbar vertebrae, Candide decided to take a break
from competition and devote himself to his first feature film
along with Quiksilver. This two-year filming project involved
Simon Favier, Andreas Johannessen and director Matt Pain.
/ Page 3 /
/ CANDIDE THOVEX / BIOGRAPHY
JANUARY 2003, ASPEN, COLORADO (USA). WINTER X GAMES.
The biggest freestyle competition in the world is about to
crown its winner in the half-pipe competition – the most
prestigious one. The Frenchman Candide Thovex wins
gold on the US soil in this ultra-technical discipline.
MARCH 2010. two injuries (including a major back injury) and seven winters later, Candide skis the scary Bec
des Rosses face in Verbier (Switzerland). With a quick
and committed run during the final freeride competition
of the Freeride World Tour, he was once again crowned
World Freeride Champion.
TWO WORLDS, TWO DISCIPLINES,
TWO TECHNIQUES, WHICH RADICALLY DIFFER,
yet won by the same skier. No other skier has achieved so much in the disciplines of
freeskiing. Candide Thovex is the first to bridge this large gap to bring these two polar
opposites together at the highest level: the pure technical arena of rotations in a half-pipe and
the courage, power and agility required to draw a line down an unridden near-vertical face.
That is pure genius.
CANDIDE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN EXCEPTION.
In the short history of freeskiing (almost 20 years), there have been both masters of style and
competition animals. The masters of aesthetics and the medallists. Nature rarely manages
to mix the DNA needed to combine these two special disciplines, with the exception being
Candide Thovex.
He has won in all disciplines of freeskiing and at the most important competitions. Besides
the X-Games half-pipe and the freeride world championships, he also bagged the big air and
slopestyle at the X-Games (2000 and 2007) and the Red Bull Linecatcher, another freestyle
backcountry competition (2010).
The French skier was born in 1982, and refined his mogul style at Balme in the resort of La
Clusaz, a natural playground, with its infinite number of lines. Balme encouraged creativity
and young Candide benefitted from blending risk-taking and inventiveness, driven by a fierce
motivation. Over the winters he perfected the rare ability to move fluidly on snow and in the
air.
He began competing on moguls, where future freestyle champions emerge. The demanding
discipline builds the legs and the willpower. He greatly admires Edgar Grospiron (the hardworking gold medallist at the Olympic Games in Albertville) and would soon be appointed
as his successor ... before leaving that job behind for the more free and creative world of
freestyle.
Without realizing it, Candide was perfectly positioned when the emerging freestyle skiing
began and was ready and waiting for the ‘new school’ freestyle explosion finding his niche
amongst the most radical of the snowboard world. New school freestyle skiing awaited its
hero, someone who could weather the fads and fashion trends. This was Candide.
Already well known in France, this exceptional skier even stood out in the United States at
age 16 by being the first to clear Chad’s gap with incredible style, a huge jump that quickly
appeared in the best videos of the day. By ‘98 Candide had not yet won anything more than
respect within the skiing world. Two years later, his first victory at the X-Games began his
international competition career. His long time sponsor Quiksilver (signed when he was 14)
placed him among the likes of teamriders Kelly Slater, Tony Hawk, Travis Rice and Robby
Naish.
/ Page 4 /
/ Page 5 /
/ CANDIDE THOVEX / BIOGRAPHY
In 2003 the visionary Candide created his own event at home in
La Clusaz that went against the grain. The Candide Invitational
invited the best skiers on the planet to show what they could do in an
enormous snowpark, in order to provide an amazing show for the
spectators, photographers and previously unequalled videos to
the world. Candide therefore became the initiator of a new type of
freestyle skiing that set the bar higher for the level of difficulty by
combining great style and jumps. The Candide Invitational remained
on the calendar of the best freestylers in the world for 5 seasons.
Along with competitions, he filmed a lot of footage himself (the
famous Rastafaride videos) and meticulously produced, edited and
even selected the soundtrack. It’s no coincidence that Candide loves
to cut and paste all the sequences of his films in the same style as
his skiing, varying his pace: relaxed yet upbeat, with a bass line
influenced by Kingston (a place he visited) and adding some
unbeatable up tempo beats. On film, one can admire the flexibility
and the cast, one can dissect the floating spins, and focus on the grabs
held until the very last second.
CANDIDE
EN 6 DATES
2012
2010
2008 & 2009
2007 2003
2000
RELEASE OF THE FILM ‘FEW WORDS’
WINNER OF THE FREERIDE WORLD TOUR
AND RED BULL LINECATCHER.
INJURED FOR TWO YEARS AND OUT OF ACTION.
WINNER OF THE SLOPESTYLE AT THE WINTER X-GAMES
AND SUFFERED A BACK INJURY.
FIRST EPISODE OF CANDIDE KAMERA.
WINNER OF THE SUPER PIPE AT THE WINTER X-GAMES (USA) AND INJURED HIS OTHER KNEE.
FIRST EDITION OF THE CANDIDE INVITATIONAL.
WINNER OF BIG AIR X-GAMES (USA)
AND SUFFERED A KNEE INJURY.
Candide Thovex is the most polished act of his generation, who
mixes skiing, skate, snow, a master of images, who maintains his
style all in the pursuit of winning gold. His film ‘Few Words’ is the
culmination of all these dazzling skills, the culmination of 15 years of
aerial freeskiing by Candide.
/ MATT PAIN / BIOGRAPHY
Founder of the production company Process Films, renowned for its excellent snowboard videos, Matt Pain is a director from New Zealand.
A snowboarder and mountain addict, he spends his ­
winters
between New Zealand and the United States. He studied
design and specialized in 3D animation. Based in Norway, he
collaborates on various TV productions and has helped develop
the visual identity of several channels. After tiring of office work,
he embarked on snowboard film production. He worked on the
film ‘They Came From ..’ with Factor Films and created his own
company Process Films.
Matt Pain has collaborated with the Quiksilver group many times,
in particular during the filming of ‘A Shot In The Dark’, released in
August 2011, where he met the top Norwegian riders all part of the
world’s top contemporary snowboarders.
‘FEW WORDS’ IS MATT PAIN’S FIRST FEATURE SKI FILM AS A DIRECTOR
AND PRESENTS A FRESH LOOK AT THE CAREER, CHARACTER AND IMPACT
OF CANDIDE THOVEX.
/ Page 6 /
/ Page 7 /
Memories of shooting
with Candide Thovex and Matt Pain
MATT PAIN
HOW LONG DID FILMING ‘FEW WORDS’ TAKE?
“Difficult to quantify the number of hours, but one thing is for sure
these last two winters the cameras were shooting 7 days a week
non-stop. In the end, it was a massive amount of rushes, a colossal
29 terabytes of images!”
CANDIDE THOVEX
WORST MOMENT
WHICH SPOTS DID YOU RIDE/FILM?
«It was in Austria, it was a run through a forest (in a forbidden
zone!) and I fell in a hole. I found myself hanging on a branch
under a large frozen waterfall in several metres of ice. I do not
know how long I stayed there, but it seemed very long time. Matt
(Pain) tried everything to get me out but it was too slippery. Finally
there were two Finnish skiers who had miraculously followed our
tracks who eventually came and rescued me. My arm and the left
side of my body was paralyzed by the icy water. When I was finally
out of there, we had to walk back through the forest, walking for
hours before making it back to the village. ‘
‘There were two trips to Canada during which we were in Revelstoke, Icefall Brook, Last Frontier and Eagle Pass just above the town
of Hyder on the Alaskan border. In France, we went to La Clusaz
and Chamonix, also Verbier (Switzerland) and the Austrian spots,
St. Anton and Stuben.
THE MOST MAGICAL SPOT?
«The wild side of Alaska and Canada I think is unique. These places
combine stunning scenery with wonderful flora and fauna.”
THE SCARIEST MOMENT
«At La Clusaz jumping a ledge, I miscalculated the distance and I
almost got carried away by the sluff (surface snow slide). I really
did not want to fall as there were rocks everywhere. «.
THE BEST TIME FOR SHOOTING?
“Every day that you get rewarded with shots after all the hard work.”
A MOMENT OF PURE HAPPINESS?
THE WORST?
«We spent three days holed up in a small refuge lost amid the
glaciers of Canada. It was magical. «
I have 3. Sonnenkopf, the moment when I realized Candide could
actually die in the situation he was in. I knew he had to get out some
way. Watching Candide almost go down in an avalanche in Balme
that would have taken him over some serious cliffs and finally a
whole second of actually believing we were going to crash the helicopter while flying in Canada....way too close to call.
I think the pilot misjudged his position when coming out of a 180
degree turn. The mountain face was right infront of us and approaching very fast, we just managed to miss the side of the mountain
but I think a meter. I was in the front, my legs were shaking. I fly a
lot and it’s the first time I felt my legs shaking.
A MOMENT OF LACK OF MOTIVATION?
‘There were many. When you film, you often feel as if things are
stagnating. Sometimes it can take weeks to film a good sequence.
But when you put them end to end and you see the result, the
motivation comes right back.’
HOW WAS SHOOTING WITH CANDIDE?
‘When Quiksilver suggested I work on the project, I couldn’t say no
to the opportunity. Candide needed to focus as much as possible on
the skiing, so I took care of all the rest. But as Candide is a perfectionist, he kept an eye on everything, every detail, every step of the
film. Nothing is left to chance. He knows what he has to do and we
talk it through together.’
MINIMUM IMPACT
CAMERAS
During the filming of ‘Few Words’, ­Candide
has remained loyal to his perception of
freestyle and nature.
THE MOST UNUSUAL MEETING?
‘A wolf! It was in Canada, it bit me on the thigh, fortunately its fangs
did not pierce my pants! ‘
/ Page 8 /
was mostly shot with the RED ONE ­c ame­r a
and the RED EPIC made it especially
outstanding.
Minimum impact! We had to lug backpacks loaded with 50 kilos
of equipment up ascents of several hours, then walk back up the
hill, after each run, for a second run. Even whilst shooting the
places and selecting the spots, Candide was clearly respecting
nature. ‘We went through many wild places, preserving the rarely
visited places’ - justifying the strict rule of conduct, which included
controlling the use of helicopters and skidoos, which were - ‘only
used to be more productive, not to make a spectacle.’ Similarly if a
shrub or tree was buried and appeared during the building of a set,
without question we would not cut it for reasons of ‘bad karma’.
The team would leave it be and look for a new spot.
The picture quality is stunning, the slow motion shots are both
precise and spectacular. The Epic, adopted by many filmmakers
like Peter Jackson and Steven Soderberg, also has the advantage
of fantastic maneuverability.
Because it had to be sent off into remote locations for the filming
of ‘Few Words’ this was a great advantage. In addition, Matt Pain
and his team used the Sony NEX FS100 and the Cineflex camera
for filming from the helicopter.”
/ Page 9 /
CANDIDE’S
CLOTHING
HIS QUIKSILVER
PRO MODELS
CUSTOMER INFORMATION WWW.QUIKSILVER.COM
Candide is a perfectionist and very
demanding, so he never leaves
anything to chance.
This starts with his equipment and materials. Just
like in the movies, he has a very clear idea of what he
wants and knows how important it is. Alongside the
team from Quiksilver, his longstanding partner, Candide has built a strong, lasting relationship and numerous exciting collaborations.
This winter, the ski prodigy inspired a collection true
to its core requirements, which retained comfort and
sophistication. This included a lightweight version of
the Quiktech 10000 Jackets and pants, incorporating
multiple pockets and special finishes to guarantee a
comfortable ride. Design wise, Candide has for many
years loved a brightly coloured geometric design,
which has become his trademark.
SECTION GLOVES
•
EDITING
After 2 years of continuous shooting,
Candide and Matt Pain locked themselves
away for nearly four months in front of
their computers at the Quiksilver studio in
Saint-Jean de Luz to produce their edit.
•
CHOSEN BY CANDIDE THOVEX, THE Q2 GOGGLES IS A REAL CONCENTRATION OF TECHNOLOGY
INCLUDING: A FRAME WITH PU INJECTED THERMOFORMED FOAM FOR COMFORT AND INCREASED
SECURITY, A SPHERICAL LENS WITH 100% UV PROTECTION, ANTI-FOG AND DISTORTION
TREATMENT COUPLED WITH AN EXCLUSIVE QUIKSILVER VENTILATION SYSTEM.
A GOGGLE BUILT FOR PERFORMANCE.
OTHER SPECIFICATIONS:
• SPHERICAL PC INJECTED LENS + DOUBLE ACETATE SCREEN TREATED AGAINST SCRATCHES
• PERFORATED LENS TO INCREASE VENTILATION
• SIDE CLIP FOR HELMET ATTACHMENT
• TRIPLE THICKNESS FOAM ADJUSTED TO THE FACE FOR BETTER COMFORT
• PROTECTIVE QUIKSILVER COVER
•
10K QUIKTECH MITTENS HAVE REINFORCED PALMS,
WARM INSULATION AND A SOFT THUMB AREA TO WIPE
THE MASK.
STONE BEANNIE
•
•
SIMPLE, PLAIN, JUST AS CANDIDE LIKES IT, DRALON
THREAD, WHICH HAS THE SAME INSULATING PROPERTIES AS WOOL.
An intense and sometimes agonizing process for Candide
who is a natural perfectionist. With such a huge amount of
material and all different kinds of formats to be processed
(including archive footage from Candide’s first victories at
the X-Games), the duo eventually found the right balance.
Each cut was subject to tough decisions, with nothing
finalised until both Matt and Candide were happy with it.
•
Candide summarizes
THE JACKET INCLUDES MANY POCKETS (GOGGLES, PACKS, RADIOS
UNDER A CENTRALIZED FLAP), COMFORTABLE LYCRA CUFFS AND A
POWDER SKIRT.
“The edit was difficult because it is final! I could
continue working on it for hours and hours, but
we must learn to set limits and make choices. In
other words, accept nothing is ever perfect. The
hardest thing was capturing the images in the
first place!”
GOGGLE
•
SCOPE JACKET
•
10K QUIKTECH JACKET HAS TAPED SEAMS, FABRICS TREATED WITH
WATER REPELLENT 3M, WARM DOWN-FILLED INSULATION, ECO
BLUESIGN LABELS AND THINSULATE INSULATION.
•
BOUNDARY PANT
•
10K QUIKTECH PANTS HAVE TAPED SEAMS, FABRICS TREATED WITH
WATER REPELLENT 3M, WARM DOWN-FILLED INSULATION, ECO
BLUESIGN LABELS AND THINSULATE INSULATION.
THE ERGONOMICALLY CUT PANTS ALSO INCLUDE SEVERAL CARGO
POCKETS, A SYSTEM FOR LIFTING THE BACK OF THE PANTS TO
AVOID WALKING ON THEM, SNOW GAITERS, A BUCKLE AND A PASS
HOLDER.
Page 11
11 //
// Page
•
FACTION SKIS - BRAND OUTLINE
•
The Faction Collective was formed in
2006 by a group of friends in Verbier with
the aim of creating the best-designed &
built freeride & freestyle skis.
FACTION’S WORLD-CLASS MANUFACTURING BASE IN HEART OF THE EUROPEAN ALPS, COUPLED WITH A STRONG COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, CREATES AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTS
ANNUALLY.
WITH BASES IN VERBIER, SWITZERLAND AND BRECKENRIDGE, CO, FACTION
STAFFERS SKI MORE THAN 100 DAYS A YEAR, REFINING THEIR PRODUCTS
AND KEEPING THE STOKE ALIVE.
CANDIDE PRO MODELS
THE SUPERLIGHT SERIES
CANDIDE 3.0
Faction and Candide Thovex worked tirelessly
to refine the Candide 3.0, one of the best highperformance freeride skis on the market. The
result is a modified flex pattern for better control,
feedback and stability. The composite D120 core in
recycled PET and flax fibres used in the core of the
ski reduced the weight by a solid 800grams.
CANDIDE 1.0
FURTHER INFORMATION ON CORE TECHNOLOGY:
Faction X Candide Thovex have partnered with Swiss
core manufacturers Bcomp who have developed a core
­manufac­­tured from recycled PET and flax composites.
A perfectly balanced, fully-centred sidecut park
and pipe ski which delivers ultimate control and
responsiveness in a phenomenally lightweight,
durable package. Starting with the Faction
Kennedy ski footprint, Candide redesigned the core
and flex pattern to ensure optimum feel throughout the
entire terrain park.
Faction will be the first company to commercially apply this innovative
technology in two of our models. The new PET cores leads to a reduction
in weight around 30% when compared to a traditional wood core, whilst
retaining all of wood’s excellent on-snow feel.
/ Page 12 /
/ Page 13 /
ABOUT
Infos, tour & screenings schedule, teaser
• HTTP://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/FEWWORDSFILM
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MEDIA
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SECTION : EVENTS / FEW WORDS
PRESS CONTACTS
Cathy Lallement - QUIKSILVER EUROPE EVENTS&ATHLETES PR
PH. +33 1 46 04 08 62
CONTACT@AGENCE-OP.FR
Marie-Aurélie Duché - QUIKSILVER EUROPE COMMUNICATION
PH. +33 5 59 51 57 57
MARIE-AURELIE.DUCHE@QUIKSILVER-EUROPE.COM
Quiksilver is an emblematic boardsports brand, founded by a
group of surfing enthusiasts in Australia in 1969. True to a unique
lifestyle, Quiksilver holds passion, authenticity and innovation to be
­fundamental values.
The brand’s identity is represented by its logo, a mountain inside a wave symbolizing
its attachment to boardsports and its playgrounds, the sea and the slopes. Quiksilver
products cover the whole range of sportswear, accessories and boardsports gear.
Quiksilver is also intimately associated with the very best athletes as Kelly Slater, Tony
Hawk, Robby Naish, Dane Reynolds, Stephanie Gilmore and the biggest events in the h
­ istory
of boardsports. For more than 15 years, Candide Thovex has been one of the ­prestigious
Quiksilver ambassadors. Quiksilver was proud to support Candide in this new project and
give him the opportunity to achieve his first long movie Few Words.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT : WWW.QUIKSILVER.COM