Photo: Andrew Shield/WSL
To peruse the lineup and buy tickets to the 2024 Solento Surf Film Festival at La Paloma Theater, click here.
Who said surf cinema is dead? Taylor Steele certainly didn’t. The acclaimed documentarian Kelly Slater and the Momentum Generation, tequila brand owner and film festival founder have curated a list of surf movies that will be playing live in Encinitas next week. Steele started the annual Solento Surf Film Festival in 2021, and it’s been a big hit ever since.
This year’s three-day event promises more of the same, with a Rip Curl Search edit starring Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Curren and Mason Ho, “b-clips” from Logan Dulien’s last Snapt movie, and a new John John Florence film. If you need a break from the ripping, there’s an adventure trek through Patagonia and a group of 90-year-old women who froth in the water. Steele also hosts captivating interviews on stage with featured surfers and filmers. Trust me, it’s good stuff.
Related: Taylor Steele’s Surf Filmmaking Masterclass
There are also other things happening before the theater goes dark. This weekend Outerknown is hosting a Seaside Beach Takeover (a family-friendly surf comp at Seaside Beach) on September 14. For the aesthetically inclined, there’s an exhibit with artists and photographers like Todd Glaser, Jim Olarte, Oriana Poindexter, Mark Cunningham, Schuyler Beecroft, and more at 6 p.m. on September 17 at the Four Moons Spa in Encinitas. Complimentary drinks (and maybe a Slater sighting?) are included.
Here’s the full slate of scheduled surf movies with their rundown below. Don’t forget your tickets here.
Thursday 9/19:
The Road to Patagonia:
The Road to Patagonia is a stunning, intimate and unflinching series of love letters within a documentary – firstly a love between two people, and secondly between humanity and the Earth.
Follow Hannon on an incredible solo adventure, to surf the west coast of the Americas by motorbike, from the top of Alaska to the tip of Patagonia. But deep in the wilderness – alone with the wolves and the bears – the journeyer’s plans unexpectedly fall to pieces. After losing everything, and on the cusp of quitting he meets the girl of his dreams, a permaculture farmer named Heather Hillier who throws caution to the wind and sells her urban farm to buy a bike of her own. Together riding south, the duo meet with Zapatista rebels, Amazonian shamans and Mapuche leaders whose salient words crack the adventurers’ cultural veneer, leaving them with existential questions. The 50,000km surfing odyssey becomes beautifully complicated by their decision to downshift from motorcycles to horseback, presenting a relational approach to the breathtaking landscapes and a host of challenges that ultimately become extremely rewarding.
Hannon and Hillier succeed in beautifully capturing deeply human moments during the world-first expedition, and the noticeable lack of camera crew becomes The Road to Patagonia’s strength. The theme of deep ecology underpins the entire film, visually communicated through exquisite cinematography and emotional verité sequences. Shot over 16 years, the result is an adventurous exposé on the more-than-human world, offering a physical and spiritual odyssey to better understand our place in Nature.
Snapts to Nowhere: The Search for Jeremiah’s Cove Starring Senior Asher Peso:
Asher Pacey heads south of the border and scores an empty point break all to himself — sampling 4 new boards over 3 days while filming for Snapt5.
Let Me Live:
Portrait on big-wave surfer Tom Lowe.
The Granny Grommets:
“The Granny Grommets, a nearly 90-strong group of women, come from all walks of life and with all the life experiences that an older person brings with them, to bodyboard every Friday morning at Middleton beach in Albany in Western Australia. This film ultimately reflects on the healing and transformative power community and friendship provide for us later in life.”
Related: Taylor Steele Made a Montage of Sunny Garcia Footage
Friday 9/20:
North Stars:
A 42-minute surf film & portrait of Adrien Toyon by Yentl Touboul. At the crossroads of a surf film and a visual portrait, the film depicts Adrien through the eyes of some of his closest friends and those of the board makers who’ve inspired his dive into alternative designs. Filmed around the world between 2022 and 2024, from Adrien’s home Island of Reunion to Australia, Biarritz and the cliffs of Western Ireland.
Also featuring Mikey February, Kobe Hughes, Andrew Kidman, Shane Sykes, Koldo Illumbe, Tom Morat, Lee-Ann Curren, Peta, Hanna Scott, Micky Clarke and more.
Snapt5 Below the Cut:
Monster Energy team riders Parker Coffin, Taro Watanabe & Levi Slawson go far off the beaten path in Indonesia on a mission to stack clips for Snapt5.
Creatures of Habit:
Filmed in the Pacific Northwest and Iceland, Creatures of Habit explores pushing boundaries and embracing uncertainty by surfing in unpredictable and challenging-to-access locations. The aim is to leave behind the comforts and absolutes learned over time and to embrace the cold and unknown.
Saturday 9/21:
Horse:
A surf film by James Kates. Starring Noa Deane in a striking vignette of travel and shelf discovery. Appearances from Tom Gillespie & Makoa Gomez. Original score by Russell W.
333 Degrees: INTO THE COOLY-VERSE
Starring Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, and Dean Morrison.
Here & There:
Florence presents the newest short film from John Florence and Parallel Sea: Here & There. Still unreleased, and documented over the 2023/24 winter on the North Shore, the film follows the Florence brothers as they continue to push the boundaries of performance in their own backyard.