This film, made by director Luiza De Moraes, a relatively small-fry filmmaker although this is no reflection of her fine work, follows the trajectory of Italo from kid growing up in a little beach town, poor as anything, to earning a million bucks a year as a pro surfing world champ. He makes a pattern of his future and he follows it stubbornly. And so he becomes a surfer from necessity, from ambition.Ĭontrary to many opinions, Italo Ferreira isn’t unpredictable. When a man's poor he's hungry for everything, not only for bread. It is 296-pages long, has a stiff cover and costs eighty Australian dollars. There’s a book, too, by the very good photographer John Respondek, an essential for people who like pretty photos of surfing. This movie, which was funded by the shoe company Globe, is a sort of love letter to Dion’s slice of the world, with environmental overtones etc. I found a spot down here, forty acres on a river, no one around.” I was living with my buddy who ended up passing away and it got to the point where I was living in this shithole traffic going to showings and thinking, ‘What the fuck am I doing? This is horrible.’ It made me revaluate my life. The Australian surfer Dion Agius, who made his name as a regular in his best friend Kai Neville’s surfing movies, lives in a little wooden cabin in the town of Scamander at the mouth of the Scamander River between Saint Helens and Saint Mary in Tasmania, an island off Australia’s mainland.ĭion, who is thirty six, moved to Tasmania after two years in Los Angeles selling Epohke sunglasses that he describes as “the worst two years of my life. No seventies pussy hair or shaved babylike snatches, but briny and foul with sexiness nevertheless.Īustralian surfer Dion Agius releases a love letter to Tasmania, a state he adopted after living in "hellish" LA and Byron Bay. Thank you legends! Much love from Sweden.” One year without surf, nagging injuries, heavy & dark thoughts, Covid etc and now my froth came back in an instant together with some tears and smiles throughout these 40 minutes of pure joy. “This was exactly what I needed in these dark times. Soo well done, thankyou for showing us your adventure.” “You guys have once again captured the magic of surf + travel beautifully.
Thanks for bringing back beautiful memories of Scotland and Ireland for me!” says Canadian pro Peter Devries. What an awesome adventure that gives you the feeling of being there.
“This is exactly what surfing is missing right now. In stark contrast to the WSL’s production line of “very nice, very pretty and a obedient as a tame animal” films, a long-cut of surfer Torren Martyn and his auteur pal Ishka Folkwell documenting their three months chasing Atlantic swells has a legitimacy that resonates with audiences. Yeah, explodes is an overreach, gotta bait that hook, but the simple tale of two Australians fitting out a camper van and chasing winter swells through Scotland, Ireland and into West Africa has become a surprise hit.
We wander around the pool, an air rifle is used to pierce a bottle, Slater explains how to pour almond milk, the cameraman is warned never to use the van’s toilet for anything other than splashing water on face, there’s a little history of the pool and Slater reveals his favourite music comes from his new friend Anderson Paak, although the cover of Paak’s album is blurred for reasons unknown.
“It’s just a picture book, it’s the easiest one to read,” says Slater. We see Slater’s book shelf which includes a copy of the Bible translated into pidgin Hawaiian ( Da Jesus Book), a philosophical treatise on the working man ( The Pleasures and Sorrow of Work by Alain de Botton), Norman Mailer’s seminal The Fight, a biography of surfer-turned-UFC fighter Richie Vaculik (Bra Boy) and a picture book of crop circles. He smiles often as he directs surf fans through his caravan and around the much loved wave pool.Ī guitar is picked up and song improvised, Slater’s voice deep and unwavering. This five-minute short finds Slater, an old man, now, although nothing would indicate his advancing years, with that famously fine, clear brown complexion, a splendid chest and big arms.
Slater recreates Malibu's famous Paradise Cove 40 miles south of Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley.įor two weeks each year, the eleven-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater lives in a second-hand Airstream caravan, those vehicles recognisable by their distinctive rounded and polished aluminium body, at the wavepool he built in Lemoore, California.