Movies selection 2023
KALD SÒL (France)
17h00 // 30min
Real. Thomas Meurot
Prod. No Palm Tree Association
The film sheds light on the surprising resources of cold countries, on the search for waves guided by the vagaries of the weather. Samuel Redon, a young professional surfer adept at surfing in hot water, will discover a completely different world of surfing. Between storms, violent winds, snow and slippery roads, he crosses the Island accompanied by the No Palm Tree Surfing Association, which guides lovers of sliding in the wild. Christophe and Quentin, two amateur surfers, join the adventure. Rough destinations aren’t just for professional surfers, that’s our message.
FRIDAY JULY 7
CULTURE HOULEUSE (France)
17h45 // 80min
Real. Florian Meca
Prod. Florian Meca
Nearly 12,000 km separate Hawaii from Brittany. Two radically different cultures and lifestyles, which nevertheless share an all-consuming passion: surfing. An originally spiritual and religious practice, which evolved over the centuries to become the sport we know today.
FRIDAY JULY 7
EVERYWHERE I GO (France)
19h30 // 20min
Real. Guillaume Douat
Prod. Demain Studio
Maud is a professional surfer and is also very committed to the preservation of nature, the ocean and the environment. For Maud, surfing is about passion and dedication.
In 2021, she created her own association « Save the Mermaid » which is committed to the protection and defense of the oceans and marine environments.
The mermaid, symbol of the association created by Maud, is a fictional character who has captured the hearts of many people around the world. She is a symbol of beauty, grace and freedom. However, the oceans and seas it inhabits are in danger. Blending art and surfing, this film tells the story of a mermaid who seeks to protect and save her home.
FRIDAY JULY 7
CORNERS OF THE EARTH – KAMCHATKA (Australia)
22h00 // 89’45min
Réal: Spencer Frost & Guy Williment
Prod: Spencer Frost Films
Follow filmmakers Spencer Frost and Guy Williment and surfers Letty Mortenson and Fraser Dovell as they travel to Kamchatka in Russia’s far east in search of new waves along the frozen, uncharted coast. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk with more than 150 volcanoes (29 of which are active), the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East is as isolated as it is unique.
FRIDAY JULY 7
NEW COLORS – NYE FARGER (France) / Out of competition
16h30 // 19’54min
Real. Arthur Genie
Prod. ROXY & Surfeuses Magazine
For about twenty minutes, spectators will be able to follow four junior athletes, gathered to face the elements of Northern Europe. Confronted with the frozen waters of the Norwegian winter, these young women step out of their comfort zone, push their limits and redefine their approach to surfing. Beyond the competition sites, they reconnect with the pleasure of sharing their passion, through a unique experience in cold waters.
This film honors women’s surfing and the new generation of European female surfers.
SATURDAY JULY 8
KIDS ARE FUTURE (Italie – Sénégal)
17h45 // 19’43min
Real. Alessandro Dotti
Prod. Alessandro Dotti
Four young Italian surfers discover Senegalese culture with their coach Andrea. The main objective and motivation is surfing, but they will discover much more by living a deep experience that they will keep in their hearts.
SATURDAY JULY 8
LOOKING FOR BALANCE (France)
18h45 // 54’05min
Real. Franck Lapuyade
Prod. Kanalu / Puzzle Media
Adrenaline, the hormone that speeds up your heart rate, raises your blood pressure and dilates your pupils. This hormone is the one around which Cédric Giscos has built his life.
Surfing ever bigger, ever more dangerous waves, Cédric decides to devote his time to chasing big swells between France and Galicia, a paradise still unknown to big surfers.
But one day, a heated argument in the Basque Country with local surfers pushes Cédric to put his athletic career on hold. This unbridled quest for adrenaline in which he drowned his anxieties will give way to a quest for meaning. It is finally in the earth that he will find the balance and the values that are specific to him. But the water is never far away, the call of the surf is too strong! The balance he needs is perhaps halfway between land and ocean.
SATURDAY JULY 8
SAVAGE WATERS (England)
22h00 // 93min
Real. Mikey Corker
Prod. Wihpped Dea
A stunning and intimate portrait of modern adventurers as they follow clues left in a 19th century treasure-hunter’s journal to find and ride a mythical wave in some of the most dangerous waters of the Atlantic.
How far would you go searching for something that may not exist?
A 19th century treasure-hunter’s journal inspires a captivating journey to seek out and surf a mythical, never-ridden wave in some of the most remote and dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
For renowned skipper, Matt Knight, sailing to unpredictable and uncharted regions is impossible to resist. As a lifelong thrill-seeker, he is constantly testing the limits of what’s possible, something world-class big wave surfer Andrew Cotton has also built his career on.
With family and friends, they board the beautiful catamaran Hecate and follow clues to this ‘perfect wave’, but not everything goes to plan, with serious injury and life-threatening challenges testing the crew’s resilience and attitudes towards risk.
Savage Waters, narrated by Charles Dance, boasts jaw-dropping cinematography, and follows remarkable protagonists, for whom living life to the full often means putting themselves in harm’s way.
SATURDAY JULY 8
A CREATURE OF LEISURE – How One Man Changed Surf Equipment Forever (Australia) / Out of competition
17h00 // 26’06min
Real. Simon Lafranchi
Prod. The Leisure Collective
A Creature of Leisure tells the story of surf leash innovator John Malloy. In 1974 John Malloy landed in Yallingup, WA with nothing more than a surfboard and a backpack. He discovered that the raw waves of the Indian Ocean were the perfect testing ground to create an unbreakable legacy.
SUNDAY JULY 9
OBSEASSION (France)
17h45 // 33min
Real. Laura & Romain Decomble
Prod. Oxbow
A true artist of classic longboarding, Laure Mayer has found her rhythm and her lifestyle in Byron Bay, Australia. A life of surfing, travelling and encounters that has allowed this entrepreneur to build friendships all over the world. Back in Europe, she decided to go on a road trip along France, Spain and Portugal, in which Laure met Estelle, Paula, Andrea, Inés and Ria. Just like Laure, these surfers have chosen a lifestyle that allows them to enjoy the priceless freedom of surfing as often as possible. Directed by Romain and Laura Decombe, OBSEASSION is a 30-minute documentary that offers a portrait of six proud women of this generation of longboarders that claim their spot in the line-up to simply enjoy and glide from the nose of their boards.
SUNDAY JULY 9
ANGLET, GRANDIR FACE À LA MER (France)
19h15 // 45min
Real. Christine Diger
Prod. Christine Diger
An epic that tells the story of the Anglet coast from 68 to 80 in several voices.
The film consists of three chapters which follow the course of life: « The sound of the sea » physical sensation of the sea since childhood, « The promise of the ocean: leaving… and returning » adolescence under the banner of the Summer of love influenced by the arrival of American and Australian surfers, and « The Love Room from pleasure to displeasure » which traces the contours of an era with its moments of happiness and disenchantment.
Anglet, Grandir face à la mer, introduces us to the birth of surfing in Anglet and its major role among young people in the 1970s, in which it inspired a singular and original way of life still present today.
Poetry, humour, grief and hope are the colors of this story lulled by the waves of the mother ocean.
SUNDAY JULY 9
BEYOND FRAMES (Germany) / Short Film
22h00 // 13’06
Real. Samuel Müller
Prod. Samuel Muller Studio
Beyond Frames tells the story of photographer Jon Aspuru and his lifelong journey with professional surfer Natxo González. The film takes the viewer back to the early 2000s, to the peaceful village of Bakio, on the northern coast of the Basque Country. It was the connection with nature and the dream of imitating the great surf videographers of the time that pushed Jon to start filming from his childhood. The meeting with Natxo González marks for Jon the beginning of a journey that gradually brings him closer to his dream, but also the beginning of a special friendship. Beyond Frames is about big dreams and nostalgia for home.
The film was shot during my Erasmus semester in Bilbao in the spring of 2022 and would not have been possible without the courage of our team of international students. Thank you to each and every one of them for making this happen and for believing in this idea.
SUNDAY JULY 9
EL ALMA (THE STRINGER) (Basque Country) / Short Film
22h35 // 7’35min
Real. Annika von Schütz & Sunny Breger
Prod. Jorge Lopez De Guerenu
« El Alma“ is the stringer of a surfboard but also means the soul. It gives the board consistency while keeping it flexible. Three shapers give an insight into what it means to be a pioneer in shaping surfboards in the Basque Country. They shape their three original boards representing their different times, a twin fin, thruster and a retro single fin. The surfer and artist Jorge López de Guereñu finishes them with a design according to their era. Cinematic ocean shots give an impression of the unique coast of Bizkaia, the north of Spain where they all go surfing together to try the new boards. „El Alma“ is a love story about the evolution of surfboards and the deep lifelong friendship by the sea.
With Jorge López de Guereñu, Gonzalo Gandarias (Genesis Surfboards), „Koa“ Jose Antonio Aldekoa (Eukaliptus Surf) and Kike Panera (Styling Surfboards) and Jorge Imbert.
SUNDAY JULY 9
SYNCHRONISM (USA) / Short Film
22h45 // 3’03min
Real. Elley Norman & Scott Wynn
Prod. Patti
Synchronism juxtaposes surfer Josie Prendergast and synchronized swimmers in the ocean, both performing in unison – a first ever of its kind.
Synchronism is a surrealist journey, a hypnagogic state depicting fragments of the unconscious mind. A concurrence of dreamlike events, co-existing with the ocean. Where rhythmic relationships come together, not merely from coincidence. Reality is distorted when worlds combine simultaneity, both dancing to the rhythm of the sea.
“Being inspired by early avant-garde films, the vision was to reimagine surfing as an art form and create a surreal art piece that starkly contrasts with the stereotypical surf world. We wanted to make a piece of art that creates a new reality for the viewer, but also just something beautiful and unique.” Scott Wynn – Patti Creative Director.
SUNDAY JULY 9
A SWINGIN’ SUMMER (France) / Short Film
22h50 // 16’40min
Real. Vincent Pajot
Prod. Guillaume Mansart Documents d’Artistes
In 2019, Olivier Millagou made an exhibition at the Sultana Gallery in which “surfable works” made with a local shaper were shown.
In the film « a swingin’ summer », Olivier Millagou looks back on his artistic practice and, accompanied by Gibus de Soultrait (surfer, journalist and writer), he activates his sculptures in the Atlantic Ocean.
SUNDAY JULY 9
KAZAKHSTAN (Kazakhstan) / Short film
23h40 // 12’52min
Real. Erwan Simon
Prod. Puzzle Media
We thought we knew everything about the waves of the planet, and yet the seas of the globe still hide many mysteries. Explorer surfer Erwan Simon has traveled to more than 70 countries around the world to surf and document new waves. In this new adventure, he went to explore the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan, in the heart of the steppes of Central Asia!
SUNDAY JULY 9
MERRY KALIYUGA (Morocco) / Short film
23h55 // 11’11min
Real. Horace Martins
Prod. Oona Company
Merry Kaliyuga is a surf film, inspired by the Hindu story of Kali Yuga. The objective of this film was to use surfing as a medium to explore the striking duality between modernism and tradition in Morocco.
SUNDAY JULY 9
AU RYTHME DE L’OCÉAN (France)
17h00 // 27min
Real. Julien Rodrigues
Prod. Invert Production
This documentary film illustrates the intimate link between the surfer and his environment. Here, it is no longer « just » a question of sliding but of everything that surrounds the practice of surfing, the ocean, a precious and magical element.
From the walk in the forest to the meetings between regulars, this film captures the off-season atmospheres and the precious moments of the daily life of seasoned people.
MONDAY JULY 10
A PRIMA ONDA (Corsica)
18h30 // 52min
Real. Paul Joseph Poggi
Prod. Mareterraniu
Four Corsican surfers talk about their wanderings on the island in search of virgin waves. Originally from different regions of the island, they each reveal to us in their own way their encounter with a practice that carries within it a true ideal of life. Much more than a simple sport, surfing, with its share of history and legends, has experienced a singular development in Corsica.
MONDAY JULY 10
TRAJECTOIRE (France) / Out of competition
19h30 // 20min
Real. Gabriel Courty-Villanua
Prod. Kestu
Elina, Merlin, and Elijah have different personalities but share the same passion: the ocean. Elina is the first girl bodyboarder, Merlin the youngest bodyboarder and Elijah is one of the best surfers in the Pole.
Between them, they form heterogeneous personalities, linked within the same group. In this sport rather defined as individualistic, Pole Espoir is an example of learning that conditions these athletes differently. But Elina doubts her future in bodyboarding and seeks her place within the group. From intimacy to the life of an athlete, this film is an ode to adolescence as we approach a primordial transition, the passage adulthood.
MONDAY JULY 10