Featuring action footage from award winning films
Since the dawn of time, no human had ever been able to dive headfirst off a cliff, fly across a mountain range and land unharmed.
THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED.
Towards the end of the 20th century, through powder skiing, paragliding, snowboarding, mountain biking, surfing, skateboarding and base jumping, a generation of pioneers transformed an impossible dream into reality and redefined humanity’s relationship with
gravity.
(c) Mark Shapiro
The Birth of Modern Glisse Culture
XYZ begins in a ski bum town in the Swiss Alps, with the holy grail of ski-bum life — the pursuit of untracked powder — and follows the emergence of paragliding, snowboarding, mountain biking, telemarking, freeride culture, surfing and artificial wave riding, through to wingsuit flying.
It is not a comprehensive history of these sports; it is a first-hand chronicle of the moments that were at the cutting edge of the cultural zeitgeist when these disciplines first exploded into public consciousness.
Through rare archival footage, contemporary interviews and poetic narration, the film reveals how a globe-trotting community searching for freedom, excitement, style and meaning, helped create one of the most influential lifestyle movements of the late twentieth century.
Freedom became a culture.
Style became performance.
Gravity became a frontier.
La glisse — refers to a feeling, the sensation of weightlessness, gliding, freedom — it's the common thread connecting these sports and the cultures that grew around them.
The ultimate free ride, flying through space in a controlled fall, on skis, boards, wings or wheels, riding the contours of terrain, ocean surfaces and airflow.
What is la glisse?
XYZ documents the significant milestones in the evolution of glisse sports with interviews of the pioneers and professionals who shaped its journey over those decades.
It aims to educate and inspire viewers with some of the rich history of these exhilarating activities and what motivates humans to launch themselves into the void.
(c) Mark Shapiro
Cultural Insights
(c) Mark Shapiro