Lost Prophets: Search for the Collective
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.
Out of Place
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.
Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables
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.
You Scratched My Anchor
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 in Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables short boarding and long boarding on East and West Coast beaches.
(One screening only)
180° South
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.
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.
Gum for My Boat
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.
Directors: Craig Hoffmann and 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.
Hanging Five: Five surfers-five artists
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.
Directors: Mike Stewart and Scott Carter
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.
Waveriders
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.”
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.