Level 1’s Sunny premiered to the world for the first time last night before a packed house at City Hall Ampitheater in Denver. The venue, never before used by Level 1 for a premiere, was enormous, featuring three stories for spectators to pack out. And pack it out they did.

At 8 p.m. the doors opened and fans began streaming into the venue. Some made for the merchandise table—grabbing some of the many items that were on sale and also raffle tickets. Some dashed to the bar for drinks. Others headed to the poster signing table, snatching up loads of autographs and snapping photos with some of the many pros on hand; some of the notables who were in the building were Tom Wallisch, Will Wesson, Mike Hornbeck, Wiley Miller, Pat Goodnough, Blake Nyman, Will Berman, Chris Logan, Liam Downey, Tim McChesney, Parker White, Adam Delorme, Bobby Brown, Kolby Ward and Tanner Rainville.

Tom Wallisch signs copies of our 2013 Buyer’s Guide, posters, and poses with fans.

Signing posters. (L-R) Will Wesson, Mike Hornbeck and Wiley Miller.

Happy campers.

People continued to filter into City Hall for the next few hours. Partygoers mingled to pass the time, and others began to pack the bottom floor where the screen was situated, hoping to get a prime viewing spot, or perhaps to get a prime spot to grab some of the free product that would be showering the crowd later on in the evening.

At 10:00 p.m. winners of the raffle were announced; winners walked away with skis, outerwear, eyewear and streetwear and more. Following the raffle, Josh Berman, Level 1 founder, and the Level 1 team joined the athletes on stage to introduce the film, and to spur on the aforementioned shower of product.

“Let me get a free t-shirt?!”

Then, the countdown began. 10…9…8… and Sunny began to roll. Spectators viewed from the ground floor, and also lined the balconies on the second and third stories. The retractable roof above opened, giving all a view of the night sky, and more importantly allowing fresh air to flow through the building. It made for an awesome atmosphere.

Following the opening credits—which were paired with a handful of gnarly spills—it was Mike Hornbeck who had the honor of opening segment. Hornbeck dazzled the crowd with an array of creative, technical tricks in urban settings. His trademark style garnering hoots and hollers over and again.

Next, we venture to Japan where Hornbeck, Wallisch and Alex Bellemare tear up the streets. It was great to see the action shot of Wallisch that yielded the still image used on our 2013 Buyer’s Guide cover—shot by Chris O’Connell.

Packed house at City Hall. Seven seconds to go until Sunny rolls.

Rainville, Delorme and Pollard follow up, doing what they do best—getting pitted in blower powder. Pollard then has a short segment of his own. He butters his way through the backcountry and displays his trademark rodeos, showing that while he may be getting older, the man has still got it.

Next up, Chris Logan impresses with a rodeo 10 tail in the backcountry and a crazy transfer on a ledge, amongst other things. Logan Imlach then stars in an ultra cool usage of an abandoned building. Justin Dorey, Torin Yater-Wallace, Lucas Stål Madison (LSM), Pat Goodnough and Sig Tveit then get rowdy on a crazy spring feature at Breckenridge.

Wiley Miller skis fast, tech pow lines, and Will Wesson displays his insane jib prowess. We head to Sweden for more urban, and then to Sun Valley for a closed park shoot. While the jump at Sun Valley was enormous, and impressive in its own right, the gap to whale tail feature steals the show. Remember that shot from the teaser? The one at the 01:56 mark? Wait ’til you see the rest of the madness that goes down on this feature; it’s über impressive.

Peter Brown, Kolby Ward and Bobby Brown among the audience.

We then head to Turkey with Ahmet Dadali, JP Auclair and Torin Yater-Wallace. And next, Tom Wallisch and Tim McChesney share a segment, each throwing hammers that will make you say, “Damn.” Josh Bibby tears up the pow in the Kootenays, BC, and Parker White closes ‘er out with bang—displaying his strong all-around skill, ripping big, technical lines in the backcountry, pillows, massive jumps and urban alike. All told, it’s yet another phenomenal production from Level 1. This marks the companies 13th annual film.

Following the screening, those who were 21+ headed to an adjacent party room. DJ Largechild fueled a raging dance fest that lasted for hours, capping off what had been a wonderful evening at City Hall.

Tom Wallisch said about the premiere, “The new venue was awesome. It feels really big and open on the inside. Tons of kids and people were standing, it was like a concert vibe, instead of just people sitting around in hot, stuffy seats. And it was such a great turnout. It was an awesome party overall.” Touching on the film, Tom also noted, “This was one of the best Level 1 flicks I’ve seen in a long time. I’m super amped on Hornbeck opening ‘er up, he’s been working hard for so many years, it’s so awesome to see him get the opener. And I got some decent shots that I’m amped on. Level 1 did a good job with it.”

Josh Berman said of the night, “The annual Denver premiere is always the icing on the cake of a year’s worth of work and it’s rad to see so many people turn out for it. I know I speak for the rest of the crew when I say it makes us feel pretty good about what we’re doing.  Awesome crowd and great vibes. We’re all looking forward to getting it out in front of as many eyes as we can over the next few months and should have almost 100 screenings around the globe.”

With the world premiere in the books, Level 1 continues its film tour in SLC, with a show on September 12. For a full listing of show dates, follow this link. To grab the flick on DVD, click here, or look for it on iTunes.