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Denver’s City Hall Amphitheater played host to Level 1’s Partly Cloudy world premiere on Saturday, and with three stories to accommodate the masses, two full bars in operation, a retractable roof—providing a screening under the stars—plus an all-star lineup of athletes and industry folk in attendance, the evening was—in the words of Borat Sagdiyev—a great success!

Skiers came from across Colorado and beyond for a chance to meet the pros, get their hands on discounted Level 1 swag, autographed posters, and of course, to see Partly Cloudy screened publicly for the first time. The doors to City Hall opened at 8:00, and for the next hour+ moviegoers mingled, caught up with old friends, and shared the various tales of summer. Some indulged in adult beverages and strolled around the premises, while others were quick to secure prime viewing positions for the impending screenings.

Amid the chaos, I caught up with Level 1 founder, Josh Berman, who explained how the production came down to the final hour.

“As is tradition, I was sitting in the Level 1 office this afternoon pushing the button to render the final export, right around 3:00,” he said. “This is pretty much the status quo—we’ve [come down to the wire] the year before, and the year before, and the year before… I think the biggest difference this time around is that we actually got to watch the movie a fair amount over the past 10 days, and it just came down to lots and lots of little changes. We kept tweaking things and making adjustments, trying to make it the best movie that it could be.”

I also spoke with Level 1’s Schui Baumann, who touched on Level 1’s year as a whole.

“With the departure of Kyle Decker [who spent the year working on The Wallisch Project], it’s been a difficult and different year,” he said. “There was a big hole to fill, and the only way to do that was finding a couple new guys to bring on the team. But after a little warm up, all the pieces came together and we’re quite happy with the result.” Baumann added, “After some very long hours in the office I’m just glad the movie is done. Now it is time for some R&R to recharge the batteries. And as soon as the first snow falls, we’re starting another cycle.”

After making the rounds and exchanging many a hello, things kicked into gear around 9:30 with a showing of The Wallisch Project. Producer Kyle G Decker was in the house to introduce the flick, and, as expected, the crowd sat in amazement as Mr. Wallisch threw down for the better part of the next 10 minutes. Following the short screening, the Level 1 athletes and crew took to the stage to announce winners of the evening’s big raffle—providing nearly one dozen lucky fans with a slew of rad prizes, from outerwear, to backpacks, to skis—and ultimately, they introduced Partly Cloudy.

For the next hour, segment after segment flashed by, with the crowd regularly showing support for big tricks and big spills. For more, I turn it over to our own Donny O’Neill, who recaps the film highlights here.

Stay tuned for Freeskier’s exclusive video highlights from the premiere—coming soon.