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Media Release

2006 Olympic Gold Medallists on the Big Screen

Auckland, 19 February 2006

The Openair Cinema at the Viaduct Harbour shows the newest Snowboard documentary 'First Descent' as a New Zealand Premiere on Friday, 24 February. Starring in this film with other snowboard legends are Shaun White and Hannah Teter.

Hannah Teter.

Shaun White.

Shaun White.

Both Americans won Gold Medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino in the Halfpipe category last week.

The docu-drama chronicles the rebellious, inspiring and sometimes controversial rise of snowboarding as seen through the eyes of the snowboarders setting the standards and breaking the boundaries of this worldwide phenomenon.

First Descent spotlights a handful of snowboarding's early pioneers (including Shawn Farmer, Nick Perata and Terje Haakonsen) and some of the ultra-sponsored superstar phenomens at snowboarding's current cutting edge (Shaun White and Hannah Teter) and literally takes them to the edge - the snow blanketed mountains of Alaska - where these five icons face some of the most challenging and hard-core natural terrain on the planet. The five come for different reasons - Perata and Farmer to see if they still have what it takes, Haakonsen to add another credit to his Big Mountain resume, and White and Teter to undertake their first Big Mountain ride ever - and yet all seek to challenge themselves to accomplish the best snowboarding feat of their lives down peaks of powder no rider has ever descended.

Leading up to their first descent, the crew of five share their stories, comparing viewpoints, individual lifestyles, and unedited opinions on the evolution of snowboarding that began as a delinquent child of skiing and now stands as an international cultural movement that has permanently changed the face of winter sports.

Intercutting footage from the snowboarding revolution of the '80s and '90s, real-life accounts from both notorious and famed riders, and dramatic, newly-filmed scenes from the biggest winter contests and experiences these riders undergo on their way to and in Alaska, First Descent creates a fast-paced portrait of a snowsport that has quickly evolved from a fringe hobby to a full-fledged global event.

More information on www.openair.co.nz

ENDS

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