SOUL SURFING VS. COMPETITIVE SURFING
By Reedster | October 29, 2008
Surfing is still is in its infancy in Nova Scotia, but it’s growing fast.
As it grows, tension is beginning to emerge between surfers who would like to see the sport remain relaxed and laissez-faire and those who would like to see more structure and competition.
Australia, where surfing is considered a national sport, has long experienced this sort of tension.
The Gold Coast is home to Superbank, viewed by some as the perfect wave. The area is home to the highest concentration of professional competitive surfers in the world.
An hour south of the Gold Coast is Byron Bay, a hippy mecca and home to “a small group of the finest corporately-commissioned free surfers on Earth,” according to filmmaker Cyrus Sutton.
Sutton’s feature-length documentary, Under the Sun, explores the contrast and cultural clash between these two famous surf spots.
Shot on Super 16mm, Under the Sun won best independent film at this year’s Huntington Beach Surf Film Festival and best outdoor film at the Newport Film Festival.
The Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative (AFCOOP) will be screening Under the Sun at the Empire Park Lane Cinemas in Halifax on Monday, November 17 at 7 p.m. Sutton will be on hand to introduce the film and take part in a Q & A afterward.
Click here to see the movie poster for the event.
Tickets are $8 and are available in advance at the If Only and Kannon Beach surf shops, or at the Park Lane box office on November 17 (box office opens at 6 p.m.)
The following night (Tuesday, November 18 at 7 p.m.), Sutton will participate in a panel discussion with East Coast filmmakers Aaron Jackson and Christopher Ball. The discussion will take place at the Tribeca Bistro Bar, 1588 Granville Street in Halifax. Tickets are $5.
To see a trailer, go to www.underthesunsurfmovie.com
The screening of Under the Sun is part of AFCOOP’s Monday Night Movie Series (MNMS), which has been presenting independent film to Halifax audiences for over five years.
Other films shown during the series include Riding Giants, which had an audience of more than 500 viewers, and Step Into Liquid, attended by more than 320.
The MNMS is sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Film board of Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - CBC Atlantic, Empire Theatres, The Coast Weekly and the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.
For more on the series, goto http://www.afcoop.ca/mnm.
The screening of Under the Sun is being presented in partnership with the If Only Surf Shop and www.phoresia.org.
