When Torren Martyn and Ishka Folkwell get together to make a surf film, it’s all but a guarantee that it’s going to be incredible. Torren’s brand of surfing paired with Ishka’s brand of storytelling always makes for a memorable show, and their newest offering, Thank You Mother, is no different.
Their films are generally focused on a little bit more than just surfing. Sure, the surfing is the cornerstone, but the rest of the structure is an architectural masterpiece, too.
It’s not a new film, but up until now, it’s only been available to a very small, very lucky few. “The film began as a story about the act of creating a surfboard and the art of riding one, exploring the connection between surfer Torren Martyn and his friend, mentor and surfboard shaper Simon Jones of Morning of the Earth Surfboards,” Need Essentials, the company that produced it, wrote. “This naturally led to the doorstep of another friend and mentor, Albert Falzon (who made the seminal 1970 surf film Morning of the Earth), and the film became more about connection, creativity and friendship, about surfing, being happy, and living simply.”
Thank You Mother was shot in South Africa, Indonesia, and Australia. It’s an earlier version of Folkwell’s approach to filmmaking that we’ve become familiar with over the last few years. He captures the essence of the places they travel to, and accompanied by Nick Bampton’s original score, those places come to life. Martyn’s surfing, as usual, is all style, grace, and power; no wasted movements or unnecessary flashiness. But the film, as I said, doesn’t hang its hat solely on surfing. Surfing is just a vessel for something more important.
“Perhaps the most powerful element of this creative collaboration between surfers, shapers, filmmakers and musicians is the truth and beauty of Albert Falzon’s reflections on life,” the Need Essentials team continued. “With humility and charisma he offers viewers the keys to a life of contentment, explaining that happiness comes not from having more or being the best, but from having good friends and being kind.”
Thank You Mother, much like the other films Martyn and Folkwell work on together, will stick in your brain. It’s a film that celebrates simplicity — which, at the heart of everything, makes all of life a little bit better.
