The Meeting Place, In Byron Bay Today’s Weekend Review.

We were treated to a sneak preview of the Rest Your Eyes production, Byron Bay, The Meeting Place, this week. Firstly congratulations to Jonathon & Sebastian Lundmark plus Oliver Certa for a beautiful and slick production. The film has some good interviews, social history and great cinematography etc. It is a truly remarkable piece of work for a first time feature. I particularly enjoyed seeing some timely reminders of why we all love this place. Yet I left the screening with a few nagging questions in the back of my mind. Is this really a documentary or a tourism marketing tool? Are there aspects of life in Byron Bay that were simply ignored or at the very least glossed over? What exactly are the motives behind this film? There is no denying that Byron Bay ‘The Meeting Place’ is indeed a beautiful piece of work. It’s just that at times it’s a little confusing as to whether it is a documentary, a tourism marketing tool or just a beautiful representation of how the Lundmark brothers perceive life, In Byron Bay Today.  Byron Bay ‘The Meeting Place’ will be screening at the Byron Bay Community Centre on November 30^th. 

Movie review: The Cove

A friend of mine sent me the following response to The Cove. It made me more interested in seeing the movie, so even though it’s just a casual email, I thought I’d share…

Yeah, this movie sounds good. What’s it about again—Oh yeah! The mass slaughter of dolphins.

It was advertised as an eco-spy thriller and I’m a sucker for cover-ups. The movie was both heart-breaking and riveting. One of the principals in the movie was on hand to answer questions from the audience so the whole experience was even more informative than just the viewing.

I’m tempted to see it again tonight [in Santa Barbara, California] as one of the Cousteaus will be on hand and there is so much information to take in.

This movie is a consciousness raising exercise in how all of humanity relates to all life on this planet. It is also the redemption of a man most responsible for the Flipper TV series that pioneered the very lucrative SeaWorld type attractions seen all around the world.

Ric O’Berry spent ten years helping to develop this model before realizing the stress & suffering imposed on dolphins in captivity. He has spent the last 35 years making amends.

Swimming with dolphins can be a life transforming experience but should only be done in the wild where these magnificent creatures roam free.

Most of the dolphins rounded up each fall in Japan are killed for food but a few are captured and sold for over a hundred thousand dollars each for worldwide entertainment. This high priced racket has many analogies to the drug trade including political protection and media blackouts. Most Japanese and people around the world don’t know this is happening and that’s why this movie is so important.

Of course, the mass slaughter of dolphins is a reminder of our own treatment of those many life forms that we ingest in such numbers. It is a real crime that the government subsidizes the corporate model of food production so that fewer and larger players monopolize this essential life sustaining process which gives rise to the fast food culture that so undermines our health.

In addition this movie illustrates the cost to our humanity. The Japanese word for whale is the same as dolphin, so this allows food processors to sneak much of their dolphin meat past unsuspecting Japanese consumers. Two council members were able to shutdown an effort to put dolphin meat into a school lunch program. They were moved to protect their own children from the growing threat of Mercury contamination. This is a growing threat that stalks the Japanese and all life on this planet including the dolphins themselves.

A highlight of the movie was Ric himself walking into a meeting of the IWC with the video of boats full of fisherman repeatedly stabbing dolphins trapped in nets with long spears all the while hearing the sounds of the screeching dolphins swimming in a sea of rich red blood. This sickening spectacle contradicted the Japanese representative’s effort to describe how humane this dolphin killing ritual had become.

–Guy.

Click here to find local showtimes on Google

REVIEW: Last Hope – 16 original short (surf) films

Last Hope is as the title above says, a collection of 16 short films about surfing. The project was pulled together by a couple of surf media veterans, Andrew Kidman and Aaron Curnow. In his intro remarks, Kidman says “I thought something special would come of just letting the filmmakers make whatever they wanted.”

I thought it would be an interesting exercise to create a review as I watched Last Hope. But rather than just sit here tapping away while I watched, I’ve decided to take a more absurd approach and to document my responses as I have them via Twitter. So, here’s the plan: at 1150 Sydney time, I’ll push the play button and start tweeting.

To follow them as they happen, just point your browser to my twitter stream at: http://twitter.com/mr_realsurf

Well, that was interesting… here are all my tweets in the movie running order…

#lasthope opens w/slo mo of Nat Young at Angourie in the 70s. Chill tune fun, fun looking waves and super smooth Animal

Nat sequence shot by Albert Falzon, mellow tune oh ma the sea is rising, study of kid standing on rocks and swell coming in – nice

Bones soCal surfer profile, surfin’ philosopher, vintage singlefin, California green water, tune Been So Long slow and mellow

Mini waves – ultra glassy tiny cylinders in slo mo, very meditative & gorgeous almost cgi look to footage. If only I was 6″ tall!

Brocky & Baddy by Albert Falzon, more blue far north 70′s perfection – out takes from Morning of the Earth

Falzon’s Brocky & Baddy vintage single fins at Angourie in some long ago 70′s summer – oo MP! stylin’

Colts sequence… some place in US, car on fwy, horse racing shots () moody, but where’s da waves man

Let me see the Colts tune by Smog, nice, but only water seen is San Francisco bay

“Dad’s been away again” Sufjan Stevens tune soundtrack to combo of vintage surf footage and home movies. Moody nostalgic feel

Val’s nightmare features live ver of dirty three’s everything’s f*d , tasty tune, and some outtakes from Litmus movie.

“Val’s nightmare” dark sequences from the cutting room floor, concert footage to surf footage ratio about 5 to 1

“Atlantic City Ashes” sequence & tune of same title, if that’s surf in Atlantic City, it looks solid. First seq pretty dodgy but

“Atlantic City Ashes” cold water walls and super short fishy (looks like kneeboard) footage dark & wintery brrr.

“central Cal” is dat Piedras Blancas Split screen b&w guy drawing patterns in sand – oo Sandspit seq too brief! Spacey tune

“central Cal” hangglider seq, cloudy beach, waves from train where Ranch, Jalama No surfin’ but moody & like the sand artist

“requiem for the lot” Cali surfers defending Wind’n'sea parking lot against redevlopment, super fun looking wave too.

“Requiem for the Lot” Windansea parking lot overlooking the wave special to those folks. Becoming a dog park apparently.

“A train” Not having swell gives you time to think, read about and contemplate surfing. Agree. Ode to the marginal days. Nice.

“A train” surfing in New York to Holly Throsby tune One of you for me, man water looks cold & landscape dire.-but waves are waves

Spaceshell sequence, more dark, moody intro, big waves, Ghost Tree maybe Then little Rincon La Jolla who knows, in Cali tho

“The Island” super8 grainy, old Ektachrome blue, many summers ago, smokin’ rights. Now smokin’ lefts. Early 80′s maybe in HI

“The Island” old film world. Colour shifted, beat up and scratched, can’t help but be melancholy

“End” by John Frank, opens with sea and sky from boat, little coda to the collecction. Credit roll…

the last word. Generally worthy, probably much too arty for typical surf movie audiences, consistent if dark mood… good tunes

the last word cont, sequences well crafted, not modern performance surfing , but that’s what everyone else does in their vids.

last words: a good collection for a rainy afternoon waiting for surf & reflecting on waves past…

The Last Hope DVD is bundled with a CD of all the music and a 24 page booklet with thoughts, interviews and pictures. It’s released on the Spunk Records label.

NEW MUSIC REVIEW: Todd Hannigan Vol 2 – Courtside for the Apocalypse

Album cover.

For a man so worried, California surfer Todd Hannigan’s music is surprisingly soft and accepting. Think Jack Johnson to a slower beat, with a taste of Cat Stevens. Folky rock with a country accent.

Hannigan’s deep vocals rumble over plucky acoustic guitar to give the title song Courtside for the Apocalypse an on-the-road feel. And Fast Lane could have come from the flip-side of a Dire Straits album with its style of steel slide and bending electric notes. Things Are Gonna Change and Weight of the World are “rockier” with more pronounced electric guitar riffs and one breakaway lead.

The lyrics are catchy and the melodies flow. Each song has a line or two to grab onto. Something you’re already singing as you jam the day’s selection into your player. And the songs come together to tell a story.

Todd Hannigan.

It’s all happening too fast and Todd Hannigan just wants to relax but his mind won’t let him.

The Apocalypses: going past 29, cause what the hell’s on the other side of thirty anyway? Even if, “it can get expensive when it’s always Friday.” A planet, about to be swallowed by its own excesses, and no one’s doing anything about it.

Heavy stuff that plagues us. Even Flowers has some intensity with its swelling violin. But then we go back in time to Mountainview: a dobro and whisky lyrics that make you want to slug back Jack Daniels with the boys.

Hannigan and his surfboard spend a lot of time on the road. So, we should see him come back to Australia some time soon. In the meantime, Volume 2: Courtside for the Apocalypse is out now. Visit iTunes,  the band site: www.toddhannigan.com or www.cdbaby.com.

- by Shari Hooper

Todd Hannigan and Tom Curren. Photo: Javan Lila

NEWCASTLE – Surf Movie – Good Herald Sun Article

Hey Everyone, Newcastle, the latest surf flick to hit the big screens, and there are precious few, is now in theatres. Here’s a link to a Herald Sun article that tells you all about it:

Newcastle looks at angst among the waves.

Shari

Surfboard Testing Day – Sponsor Needed!

As you may have heard there is movement to create the first ever Surfboard Testing Day on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, bringing surfers and shapers together at the beach.

This is a great opportunity for a business to get heaps of exposure as a sponsor. The cost is very low and the potential return is high.

Check out -

http://www.surfspono.com/modules/friendfinder/view.php?id=81

or

http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14969

for more information

Contact shan on 0411 564 565 or sir_fur71@yahoo.com.au  to discuss.

Review: BREATH by Tim Winton

Look out for this cover

Review – Breath

Tim Winton

“How strange it was to see men do something beautiful,” speaks the narrator of Tim Winton’s latest novel BREATH. “Something pointless and elegant, as though nobody saw or cared.” The narrator is describing surfing, a sport we take for granted here on the Australian coastline. I bet you have never thought of it like that hey??

Breath is a step back in time to what I imagine to be the 70’s, when surfers where drop outs and the sport was still very much a novelty. The setting is a small fictitious town on the West Australian coast, very much like Margret River or Crescent Head in NSW would have been like around the same era.

The story centres around a young boy called Bruce Pike “Pikelet”. He is very much the harmless loner type kid trying to find his independent identity in a small town full of conservative older folk, square kids and the odd well to do tourist. Pikelet teams up with the a young guy nicknamed Loonie who is a couple of years older and is the son of the local publican. Loonie is a bit of a loose unit and an intense character. Together they discover surfing. Once they are hooked on riding waves they are noticed by a 30 something ‘enigma’ surfer named Sando who takes them under his wing. Sando defines cool, he is living the dream as seen through the eyes of a couple of grommets.

The story is a journey through Pikelet’s teen years. Skylarking around with his new mate Loonie, teaming up with Sando, surfing BIG waves and discovering girls. I have only brushed over this as I cannot do the writing justice, it is a must read to appreciate type of book. Tim Winton’s writing style is perfect; he has you there with the characters. You feel as if you are growing up right along side them. Winton’s choice of words is spot on and the feelings he creates are so accurate that any reader will be able to relate, especially if they grew up in the surf culture. In saying that even non surfers will find this book a great read, the story on its own is enough to get you hooked.

I have to admit that I don’t read books very often but my wife who read Breath when it was released a few months ago virtually made me start reading it. Three pages in I needed no more encouragement, the book was in my hands every chance I got. If I could have gotten a waterproof copy I would have taken it surfing to read while sitting waiting for the next set to roll in. I was so disappointed that the book had to end, I am preying that there is more to tell and Tim Winton is working on a sequel right now.

In saying all this, do yourself a favour. If you haven’t read Breath already make it your next read. If I owned a bookshop I would give it a money back guarantee for any surfer who bought it.