Surf Film Festival returns July 9 with 10 Hawaii premieres and a world premiere
HONOLULU—The Doris Duke Theatre’s Surf Film Festival is back for the third year, this time with 13 films, 11 of them never before screened in Hawaii. The lineup even includes the world premiere of The Oxbow Watermen Experience, about last year’s epic day at Peahi off Maui.
For the first time, the festival features a pass—$55 for entry to 11 festival screenings. Attendees who buy a pass are automatically entered in a drawing to win a 6-foot Wade Tokoro surfboard.
“This year’s Surf Film Festival is our best ever,” says Academy Film Curator Gina Caruso, who selected the films with the help of Eric and Jackie Walden of the Honolulu surf shop Chinatown Boardroom. “The films range from pure action-packed surfing to a look at surfers who devote their lives to making art. The appeal of films such as Out of Place and Gum for My Boat goes beyond hardcore surfers—the quality and issues addressed will impress movie fans in general.”
Opening night reception: July 9, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The festival opens with a reception in the Honolulu Academy of Art’s Pavilion Courtyard, featuring free beer and music by Dr. Zaius. Da Spot will serve their global cuisine (Egyptian chicken to Thai curries) for $7 to $8 per plate. Filmmaker Nathan Apffel will be in attendance and take the podium in Doris Duke Theatre at 7:30 p.m. to introduce his film Lost Prophets.
The Oxbow Watermen Experience World Premiere reception: July 28, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Oxbow. Tickets are $12 for general public; $10 for museum members. Seats are limited, moviegoers are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance at http://honoluluacademy.tix.com or at the Doris Duke Theatre box office.
Meet the director: Anna Trent Moore will be introduce her film Wake Unto Blue at the July 31, 7:30 p.m. screening and lead a post-screening Q&A.
See the full schedule:
HAWAII PREMIERE: Lost Prophets: Search for the Collective See the trailer.
Director: Nathan Apffel
Indonesia, Hawaii, California, Mexico, Australia, 2010, 52 mins.
• July 9: Reception 6–7:30 p.m.
Screening at 7:30 p.m.
• July 20 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
See how professional surfers Brian Conley, Reef McIntosh, Hans Hagen, Dave Rastovich, Chris Del Moro, Dede Suryana, Nole Cossart, and Andrew Bennet balance their lives with adventure, dedication, and a deep connection to nature and the sea. Travel with them as they surf on spectacular oceans and experience nature in the most stunning locations in the world. Some people “live life asleep and only dream they’re awake,” says filmmaker Nathan Apffel. “These surfers have found a way to wake up.”
HAWAII PREMIERE: Out of Place See the trailer.
Director: Scott Ditzenberger
USA, 2010, 65 mins.
• July 10 and 21 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
Who knew? Cleveland, Ohio, has had a surfing community since the early 1960s. Director Scott Ditzenberger’s debut film explores this underground scene. We see Vince Labbe and his friends endure harsh winter weather to surf the elusive waves of Lake Erie in a place still recovering from lost jobs and a river polluted enough to catch fire. In a 2006 article on Ditzenberger’s work in progress, the New York Times reported, “They surf in Cleveland because they must. They surf with two-inch icicles clinging to their wet suits. Through stinging hail and overpowering wind. They work nights to spend their winter days scouting surf. They are watermen on an inland sea.” Out of Place took the Viewer’s Choice award at the New York Surf Film Festival this year.
HAWAII PREMIERE: Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables See the trailer.
Director: Steve Cleveland
Hawaii, Australia, California, Indonesia, Mexico,
2009, 39 mins.
• July 11 at 1, 4 p.m.
• July 23, at 1 and 7:30 p.m.
Steve Cleveland packs two years of travel footage in this fast-paced, tightly edited, action-packed surf film. Some of the best longboarders in the world—Alex Knost, CJ Nelson, Hawaii’s own Bonga Perkins—ride all types of surfboards, such as traditional single fin logs, tri-fin hi-performance longboards, alternative and retro shortboards (hulls, eggs, fish, quads, twin fins), alaias and state-of-the art shortboards.
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HAWAII PREMIERE: You Scratched My Anchor See the trailer.
Director: Wyatt Seaverns
USA, 2010, 30 mins.
• July 11 at 1 and 4 p.m.
• July 23 at 1 and 7:30 p.m.
Wyatt Seaverns (known in some circles as Captain Fins) and Mitch Abshere put together this playful mix featuring some of the same surfers that are in Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables short boarding and long boarding on East and West Coast beaches.
HAWAII PREMIERE: 180° South (one screening only) See the trailer.
Director: Chris Malloy
USA, 2010, 85 mins.
• July 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The latest from Chris Malloy (A Brokedown Melody) chronicles Jeff Johnson’s surf-and-climbing trip inspired by Yvon Chouinard (founder of Patagonia, the company) and Doug Tompkins’ (founder of The North Face) epic 1968 Ventura-to-Patagonia (the region) adventure, which was documented in the killer film Mountain of the Storms. The two iconic eco-heroes appear in the Patagonia wildlife preserve that Tompkins founded in 1991, so it’s no surprise that the journey and the film end up being as much about conservation as riding waves and climbing peaks.
Last Paradise: An Eco Adventure Film 45 years in the Making See the trailer.
Director: Clive Neeson
New Zealand, 2010, and mins.
• July 13 and 25 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
The son of wildlife photographers, New Zealand director Clive Neeson’s life was one big adventure. The film starts with his parents’ footage of his action-packed 1960s childhood then graduates to Neeson’s own footage—from vintage shots of surf spots Noosa Beach, Petacalco, Spain, Portugal and Bali to proto-wakeboarding and snowboarding. Over time, Neeson saw that his 45 years of records of good times, faraway places and adrenaline-pumping feats could tell a larger story. Neeson reveals how the journeys of a generation of adventurers shaped their lives, values and vocations, and how they paradoxically laid a foundation for eco-tourism. These early sports pioneers’ exploits were rarely captured on quality film footage and most of it was kept under wraps to avoid exposing the secret and fragile refuges—until now.
HAWAII PREMIERE: Gum for My Boat See the trailer.
Director: Russ Brownley
Bangladesh, 2009, 33 mins.
• July 14 and 30 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
You’re invited to the Bangladesh Surf Club, which introduces a highly unconventional surfing method to more than 30 boys and girls, many of whom are poverty-stricken street kids. Due to a fearful, conservative culture, the ocean was once deemed off limits to these children, who now see surfing as a source of fun, escape, and even a way to make a living. The film follows professional surfer Kahana Kalama (a past guest star of Fuel TV’s series On Surfari) as he works with Hawaii-based nonprofit Surfing The Nations and learns that sometimes surfing involves more than catching waves.
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Fiberglass and Megapixels See the trailer.
Directors: Craig Hoffmann
Derek Hoffmann
USA, 2010, 48 mins.
• July 14 and 30 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
Every winter swarms of photographers come to Hawaii to focus their cameras on the best surfers in the world. The filmmakers shine light on the North Shore and the overcrowded image-gathering free-for-all winter surfing scene. The surfing industry relies on these awe-inspiring photos to sell surfing to the masses. But before those images can capture the attention of consumers, they first must be captured on camera. Professional surfers, photographers, and cinematographers share their perspective on what it takes and what it means to get that epic shot. This film has won awards at top national surf film festivals and was a hit at HIFF.
HAWAII PREMIERE: Hanging Five: Five surfers—five artists See the trailer.
Director: Christopher Cutri
USA, 2009, 53 mins.
• July 15 and 24 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
This upbeat, joyful film focuses on five contemporary artists who also ride longboards: Andy Davis, Tyler Warren, Julie Goldsetein, Alex Knost, and Wolfgang Bloch. The artists distinguish themselves as artists who surf, but their artwork is inextricably linked to what inspires them—the power of the ocean and the energy and exhilaration of surfing.
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Fire
Directors: Mike Stewart and Scott Carter See the trailer.
USA, 2008, 48 mins.
• July 15 and 24 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
Nine-time World Bodyboarding champion Mike Stewart has built a reputation as a top international waterman, dominating professional bodysurfing and bodyboarding events for more than two decades. Besides being a Pipeline icon, Stewart is one of the elite pioneers of deep tube riding at Tahiti’s infamous Teahupoo. This film is the culmination of his life’s journey as a wave rider, featuring incredible footage shot of and by Stewart.
HAWAII PREMIERE: Waveriders See the trailer.
Director: Joel Conroy
Hawaii, California, Ireland, 2010, 75 mins.
• July 16 and 17 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
Featuring such internationally renowned surfers as world champion Kelly Slater, Kevin Naughton, and the Malloy brothers, Waveriders explores surfing’s legendary Irish roots. This remarkable, awe-inspiring film begins with the heroic tale of visionary Hawaiian-Irish waterman George Freeth, and travels from Hawaii to Southern California to the striking cliffs of Ireland. With must-see footage, this film reaches a thrilling climax when today’s most daring surfers, wearing extra heavy wetsuits, booties, gloves, and headgear conquer the biggest swell—waves reaching more then 50 feet in height—ever ridden in Ireland. Surfer Magazine writes that Waveriders is “a gripping and artful story.”
Innermost Limits of Pure Fun See the trailer.
Director: George Greenough
Australia, California, 1968, 68 mins.
• July 22 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.
A mesmerizing surf masterpiece in three parts: chapter 1, chapter 2, and the beginning of the dawn. Director George Greenough chronicles ground zero evolution of the 1968 short board revolution. Viewers will experience the once remote and hidden beaches of Australia and California, and witness a brigade of underground surfers, including Bob McTavish, Ted Spencer, Baddy Treloar, Chris Brock, Gary Keys, and Russell Hughes. The film includes a vintage surf sound track with blues roots by The Farm.
HAWAII PREMIERE: Somewhere Near Tapachula: 54 Mexican Kids, 37 Surf Boards, 2 Australian Parents See the trailer.
Director: Stefan Hunt and Jonno Durrant
Mexico, 2009, 63 mins.
• July 27 at 1. 4, and 7:30 p.m.
• July 28 at 1 and 4 p.m.
Pam and Alan Skuse, a couple from Australia, adopted 54 Mexican orph ans and not only cared for them, but taught them to surf—“to change the direction of their lives.” This inspiring film tells their story. The proceeds benefit Mision Mexico Children’s Refuge. Guaranteed to not leave a dry eye in the house.
WORLD PREMIERE: The Oxbow Watermen Experience (one screening only) See the trailer.
Director: Johnny Decesare
USA, Tahiti, Micronesia, 2010, 45 mins.
• July 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Some of the largest waves ever ridden arrived in the El Nino winter of 2009. On December 8, Laird Hamilton and top watermen Kai Lenny, Livi Siver, Duane Desoto, and Jason Polakow, converged on Peahi (also known as Jaws) off Maui’s North Shore to ride one of the biggest swells of the decade (66 feet). Filmed in five countries, The Watermen Experience travels to the Micronesia’s Pohnpei, the hollow barrels of Teahupoo, Tahiti, and to the ocean floor for Jason Polakow’s three-wave hold down at Peahi. The five watermen demonstrate how a lifetime playing in the ocean prepares you for that one awesome—sometimes death-defying—moment.
Reception: Sponsored by Oxbow from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for museum members; $12 for general public. Seats are limited. Please purchase your tickets in advance at our website http://honoluluacademy.tix.com or at the Doris Duke Theatre.
HAWAII PREMIERE: Wake Unto Blue
Director: Bud Browne & Anna Trent Moore
USA, 2009, 45 mins.
• July 29 and 31 at 1, 4 , and 7:30 p.m.
Anna Trent Moore, the daughter of surf legend Buzzy Trent, used archival footage from surf-film pioneer (and her dad’s pal) Bud Browne to create a poetic, moving film about early 1950s and 60s surfing. She has woven together vintage black-and-white scenes of Makaha Bowl surfing, surfers in California, Gerry Lopez at his Pipeline zenith and other precious footage that hasn’t been seen in years.
Meet the director: Anna Trent Moore will be available for a Q&A on Saturday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m.