The International Surf Film Festival took place in St Jean De Luz, France, last weekend with four days of fantastic films. This year’s event exceeded all expectations with a torrid day of movies and temperatures setting the scene for the awards ceremony.
And the winners are…
Best Soundtrack
HOT BUTTERED SOUL by Mick Waters
The Movie draws on a deep well of surf cinema heritage to present the surfing of the HB extended family. Choice selections from HB’s “Sultans of Speed” series, along with surf flick classics Morning of the Earth, A Winter’s Tale, Fantasea, Storm Riders and more, are expertly intercut by editor Mick Waters, with interviews and commentary from Andrew Kidman and Derek Hynd.
Best Documentary
BUSTIN’ DOWN THE DOOR by Jeremy Gosch
During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to it’s core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into culture that was not ready for revolution.
Best Surfer
Shaun Tomson
Best Film 2008
THREAD by Patrick Trefz
From the streets of the NYC to a rock-lined African point break, the Cote Basque to Pipeline, jam sessions to surf sessions-in saturated color and deep grained black-and-white, this latest Patrick Trefz production, Thread, promises, as we’ve come to expect, a study in contrasts. – Broken-up, shattered, then placed, no-stitched-back together, Thread takes-in five lives and showcases the art these individuals make of their time. Surfing well is a lifetime’s pursuit that’s expressed in subtleties: the pull of shoulders, the timing of breath. Unfolding on distant shores, each wave and location with its own flavor, Thread sews together experiences, offering a meditative look at the most fluid of the arts. Featuring Joel Tudor, Taylor Knox, Ray Barbee, Joe Curren and Tom Carroll.
Best Local Film
MUNDAKA by Jarrod Tallman
A thousand year old Basque fishing village reflects on the changes brought about by the introduction of surfing in the early 70’s. Now, 30 years since the first surfers arrived, the village of Mundaka plays host to one of surfing’s biggest events on the World Championship Tour. How the town people cope with the transformation of a slow-paced village into an over-crowded, hustling destination for surfers, spectators, media, and travelers exposes the fragile relationship between the town and the event.
Jury’s Special Prize
SLIDING LIBERIA by Britton Caillouette
“Sliding Liberia” follows four young surfers to Liberia in search of more than perfect waves. Risking everything to explore the West African country devastated by decades of war, they record the stories of people they meet—people like Alfred, who became Liberia’s first surfer after finding a bodyboard while fleeing from rebels. Besides rediscovering a break that could be the best-kept secret in the surfing world, they find something more important—a way to travel responsibly in the 21st century.
