By Carey, Orcasound, July 4, 2009

Normally this is not the type of thing that Orcasound covers, but due to the nature and quality of it we decided it was something you should know about.

"Jump!" is a documentary that will premiere on CBC's digital channel Documentary on Saturday, July 4th. This is a Canadian produced documentary project that took three years to make. Conceived by Dan Emery, Mathieu Wacowich and Jon Deitcher, they originally thought of it as a short film and only thought of its possibilities as a feature film after the short entitled "A Dreamer's Day" won the Audience Choice Award at the 2005 Winnipeg International Film Festival. It was shot in Spain, England, France, and the U.S.

The documentary is the first full-length film to look into the world's greatest sports streakers. It especially is the story of Jimmy Jump, a Spanish door-to-door salesman who has as a goal to become famous by streaking at large televised sporting events. Jaume Marquet is Jimmy Jump and he is planning to streak at the largest football match in Spain. At El Classico in front of 80,000 spectators and 100 million people watching on television. We follow his path to this end from Barcelona to Madrid listening to him explain what he is doing and how he will accomplish it step by step.

What drives streakers to do what they do is examined along with the rush they get and how some are monetarily compensated for the streak. World-famous streakers Mark Roberts (who has done it for 16 years and at more events than anyone else) and Montreal born Ron Bensimhon (famous for his dive off the high board at the 2004 Summer Olympics wearing a tutu) are interviewed. They speak of the compensation they receive, the drive it takes, the glory they get, and their own personal philosophies about streaking.

It is an entire industry very few of us know anything about. It is not just about naked people running and gaining television exposure because they interrupt sporting events. There are lawyers, security firms, marketing companies, and public relations specialists who all come together to take part in streaking. It has become a cottage industry.

The broadcast of the documentary is quite timely in that Jimmy Jump's future is in jeopardy due to his recent streak at the June 2009 French Open. He was arrested, taken into custody and now faces up to 12 months in prison depending on if the French Tennis Federation decides to pursue him.