When the Academy Award nominations were announced this morning I was really hoping The Crash Reel would be included for Best Documentary Feature. And although it wasn’t nominated, it most definitely is, in my opinion, one of the finest documentaries of 2013. Twice Oscar-nominated director Lucy Walker tells the story of champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce (son of glass artist Simon Pearce) and the half-pipe crash on New Year’s Eve 2009 that resulted in a traumatic brain injury that forever altered his life. This intimate, powerful, intelligent, beautifully edited film is remarkably multidimensional and reaches far beyond snowboarding and the risks inherent to extreme sports. And the soundtrack is genius. 

www.thecrashreel.com