Photo: El Paraiso
The three Championship Tour surfers will star in a short film that will take them to the warm right points like K59, Punta Roca and Punta Mango? Yes, please.
That’s the premise for El Paraiso, a short documentary that follows Yago Dora, Matthew McGillivray and Liam O’Brien as they explore the coastline of El Salvador. The film will premiere during the Surf City El Salvador Pro on June 5th. In the meantime, you can catch the trailer embedded below. After the premiere, the film will then be released online through World Surf League’s website and YouTube. There will also be another live screening at South Africa’s Jeffreys Bay during the WSL’s J-Bay Classic, which has an event window from June 14-23. It’ll be a chance for McGillivray to screen the film in his hometown.
The doc is directed by Brazilian-Belgian filmmaker Loic Wirth and was made in partnership with several stakeholders, including the production company WaterMind, the WSL and El Salvador’s tourism sector. While the flick promises some exceptional ripping, it’s not meant to be just another surf clip. The filmmakers wanted to delve deeper into each surfer’s personality—of which there is plenty. McGillivray is an understated adrenaline junkie who skydives for fun when he’s not tearing apart J-Bay. Dora is one of the tour’s most well-rounded surfers and his father organized punk rock festivals. O’Brien is an intellectual who once did physics exams through an online university while competing in CT events.
Photo: El Paraiso
According to a release from the production team, “The documentary captures moments of camaraderie out of the water, highlighting the universality and cultural impact of surfing. It is a film for both surf lovers and film enthusiasts, with stories told through music and a unique perspective. It highlights the class and style these surfers bring to any wave condition, delving into what is truly spiritual and important in surfing, and what years of travel have taught them about people, culture, and relationships.”
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