Screenshot: Cluster
I love surf films — practically all of them. From the self shot GoPro grom flick to the big budget Hollywood film, they in some way remind us why we love surfing. And 2014 was a great year for surf films. Surf filmmakers stepped up their game big time and gave us more (and better) films than any year before. And not just your run of the mill “surf porn.” This past year’s films stepped way outside the box.
There were social action stories like Isolated that showed us surfing can help bring social awareness and potentially peace to those in need…
…or equal rights narratives like Out in the Lineup that united us as all as surfers regardless of sexual preference…
…and we even had a Wes Anderson-style surf film in The Fortune Wild.
How cool is that!?! Although those films strayed from the norm, the Surfer Poll proved that our addiction to epic waves as seen in Thundercloud are still the core’s favorite.
So where do we go in 2015? And what should we expect? Is there any way that it tops 2014?
Thanks to the Hobgood brothers, Indiegogo and those of you who supported the campaign we know we are going to see the CJ and Damien Hobgood: A Sibling Rivalry.
The film looks to have all the pieces of an audience pleaser… and who doesn’t love a good sibling rivalry story?
And will Cluster, Kai Neville’s film partially shot at opening day of the 2014 Moche Rip Curl Pro Portugal this past October, leave the same sorts of marks on the surfing conscious that Attractive Distractions and Strange Rumblings did this past year?
Finally, with many signs pointing towards it, will 2015 be the year of the woman? After recently releasing her first ever surf edit, maybe Alana Blanchard will release a film? I’d watch it — who wouldn’t? — and with films like Stephanie in the Water finding a solid audience in 2014 and women’s surfing being more popular than ever, seems like a natural progression. Alana, if you’re reading this, call me, I will help you. Additionally, the smartest marketed female in surfing, Anastasia Ashley, already shot scenes for a new surf film called The Arena 2, at least according to her Facebook page (which now has over 785,000 fans)! There is no guarantee of twerking, but if the film features any images like her Instagram feed does, then it is a guaranteed hit.
2015 is already off to a fast start, but what do you want to see this year? Let us know those, as well as your favorites from 2015, in the comments below.
