Frame: James Kates
Click here to buy “Horse” tickets for New South Wales shows in Bangalow, Newcastle and Port Macquarie.
Noa Deane has always employed a unique approach. But in the last two years, “Noz” has done something few, if any, in today’s surf industry can claim: shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to create multiple feature-length, cinema-worthy films in consecutive years. In 2022, it was the adrenalized Nozvid. In 2023, it was the retrospective Mash. Now, we’re eagerly anticipating the release of Horse, a narrative-driven, travel-themed film shot over the past year in Australia, Ireland and the Canary Islands.
This is Noa’s second movie edited by bodyboarder-turned-filmer James Kates. James, 36, shot parts of Nozvid and directed Mash. The duo has three Horse premieres lined up in New South Wales at Bangalow, Newcastle and Port Macquarie this week with more on the way. Part of the proceeds at the Port Macquarie show will be donated to surfer Kai Mckenzie, a Rage team rider who lost his leg from a great white shark attack last month. Stay tuned for Volcom to eventually release Horse to the masses.
Noa and James have known each other for several years since they were members of different bands. James, a high-level bodyboarder, is comfortable swimming and shooting the heavy wedges and slabs Noa has an affinity for. When Noa moved to the South Coast of NSW, their pairing made sense.
Frame: Jack Bury
Their two big trips in Horse were funded partly by sales from Mash premieres. They didn’t hit the marque Ireland spots (perhaps bad luck on the forecast) but Noa still managed to rip peaks nonetheless. And why the Canary Islands? It has to do with Noa’s affinity for bodyboarding. In this case, it’s a 2005 bodyboarding movie Noa and James love called A Blank Canvas. The film shows a heavy left in the Canaries (they won’t say exactly where) Noa wanted to try out. Neither had been to the Spanish archipelago before. There’s also a sequence of him consistently getting off a few turns, something we don’t see often from the slab-happy ramp hunter.
“It’s a bit more travel-based and we’re trying to make the most of the little travel we did compared to surf vids even a couple of years ago,” James said of the film. “It’s just not viable to do 10-12 trips anymore and make a film. So we did a couple and tried to show a true representation of what went down, not just hammer after hammer. Because (the viewer) can get desensitized.”
Related: 4-Minutes of Noa Deane Punting Huge Airs? Yes, Please
James points out that Horse is meant to be a cinematic experience. It’s not just the footage, it’s the soundtrack. That’s thanks to Russell W, who contributed to Harry Bryant’s raucous Motel Hell soundscape. Maring visuals with audio on a large screen with frothing surf fans is a rare treat these days and should be enjoyed when it rolls into town.
“We’ve been collaborating since we were doing bodyboarding films 15 years ago,” James said of his partnership with Russell. “It’s really cool when you can leverage mates to work with. It creates this whole ecosystem around making a video and collaborating with your friends. It’s cool if you can pull it off.”