The 15th Wavescape Surf Film Festival will once again be heading down to uShaka Marine World Beach Arena (adjacent to Moyo).
Prepare for a worldwide surf adventure with epic visuals and amazing stories as you enjoy a great line up of surfing movies.
These start at 18h30 pm. Entry is free, so bring your mates and some blankets and / or camp chairs. Food and beverages can be purchased from Village Walk on each of the evenings.
A highlight will be Slide Night which features talks by ocean thought leaders on a wide range of topics including science, sustainability, adventure and activism. This event has been attended by sellout crowds in Cape Town every December, and will be hosted by PETCO and Wavescape at the South African Association for Marine Biological Research at uShaka Marine World on Thursday, July 25th .
Well known ocean advocate, free diver and Durban surfer Olivia Symcox will MC the evening with talks ranging from how to recycle your trash to a Sea Shepherd skipper speaking about the activist group’s work in South Africa.
The free screenings at uShaka Marine World on July 22nd and July 23rd at 18h30pm include the following movies:
JULY 22:
· Instant Surf documents British surfer and Polaroid photographer Matt Smith who has used instant photography to capture the surfing and beach life that surrounds and inspires him for over a decade. This movie breathes life into a now-extinct medium. He uses expired film and an armoury of vintage cameras that he has collected and repaired over the years.
· Generations features a collection of snapshots that celebrate a group of women as they enjoy the same ocean playground through different stages of their lives. Experience the present as well as how they pushed past their fears and even began to teach their daughters what they learned and how they came to live their dreams.
· Norduland, shot in the Arctic Circle, will no doubt have Durban surfers, who cannot deal with water dropping 28 degrees Celsius, running for their wetsuits!
· Emocean which is based on a three-year project, evolved from a surf flick into a cinematic exploration of our complex relationships with the ocean. It is told through the eyes of well-known conservationist Sacha Guggenheimer, pipe surfing legend Jamie O’Brien, big wave pioneer Jeff Clark, iconic surf filmmaker Paul Witzig and pipe photographer Brent Bielmann as well as Dave Kalama, Jamie Mitchell and the MacAulays brothers.
JULY 23:
· Salt of the Earth features the journey of making the ancient Alaia finless and other styles of surfboards using wood and includes perfect point breaks at Noosa Australia. It tells the short story of Noosa icon Tom Wegener and his philosophies of life accumulated around surfing and shaping.
· Paddlin’ for Happiness shows how, just like war, an ocean storm can be harsh and unforgiving. But, when the tide turns, the ocean is a calming force for most of us. For many of the soldiers returning from the war in Afghanistan, 30 seconds was the difference between life and death. Now for Martin Pollock, 30 seconds is the pursuit of the perfect wave.
· How to learn how to surf. Fresh from its world premiere in the US, this hilarious short documentary, shot in Bali, tells the story of the ten bullets surf team – a group of bad surfers – who experience the long, painful road to becoming OK surfers under the guidance of two seasoned – punker Pat Towserey and Rizal Tandjung.
· White Rhino features big wave surfers seen through some of the photographers who witnessed the largest surf ever seen.
To find out more go to www.wavescapesfestival.com or ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za or contact uShaka Marine World on 0313288000 during office hours.