The Wavescape Surf Film Festival is in full swing at the Labia Theatre this weekend. The 10th edition features 32 films from around the world, as well as nine South African films.
While the festival was born of a love of surfing culture and the idea of sharing the feeling with an audience, it has grown into a presentation of film, music and art events in South Africa, Réunion and New York, all with the aim of building the community and having fun.
From a purely cinematic point of view though, the films have got better over the years, encompassing not only the love of surfing but other issues, like conservation, that go hand in hand with the lifestyle.
Fims to look out for are:
Learning to Breathe: A documentary tracking surfers like Anthony Rufo, Pet Mel, Darryl Virostko and Christian Fletcher breaking the code of silence around their drug addiction and talking about drug use in professional surfing.
Now Now: An intense burst of explosive surfing by South African star Jordy Smith in Mozambique, Indonesia and Durban.
Killas y Un Kiwi: A Latin American story of top women surfers.
Eccentric Sleepy Sun: A quirky look at some of Cape Town’s top underground surfer crew as they tackle the thumping surf of the West Coast.
The stunning snow skiing film Into the Mind, set among the most majestic mountain ranges of the planet.
McConkey, the moving story of a revolutionary freestyle ski pioneer.
At the Labia the films on offer are:
• Today:
6pm: Sleepy Sun; Learning to Breathe.
8pm: A Return to the Sea; The Old, the Young & the Sea.
• Tomorrow:
6pm: Wavescape Art Board Project: two mini-documentaries with inter- views with artists; Russia; Gray Whale Sessions; 3 Killas for Un Kiwi.
8pm: Winter; McConkey with Q&A.
• Sunday:
6pm: Angola; Duct Tape Surfing; Rio Breaks.
8pm: G’Day Wave; Wavescape Art Board Project; Short cuts; The Salt Trail.
• Monday:
6pm: Danger Mavericks Moments; Revolution; Secret Machine.
8pm: Winter; Now Now; Into the Mind.
• The Wavescape Surf Film Festival takes place at the Labia On Orange until Monday. Screenings daily at 6pm and 8pm, R35 entry. For more information call 021 424 5127 or visit www.wavescapefilmfestival. co.za