Fla Surf Film Fest Announces Programming for Final Installment of 2019

Announcing Programming for November 8th and 9th

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New Smyrna Beach, FL – Florida Surf Film Festival (FSFF), presented by Monster Energy, is proud to announce official selections for the feature and short documentary categories for its final installment of the 2019 festival on November 8th and 9th at Atlantic Center for the Arts, in New Smyrna Beach, with doors opening at 4:30PM, and films beginning at 5:30PM, each night.

Passes are now available.  One-night passes run $25 and a two-night pass runs $35 for adults.  Passes for kids 10 and under are also available for $15/night and $25/two-nights.  A patron pass for $125/person includes a festival poster, 2019 FSFF t-shirt, FSFF 20-ounce YETI Tumbler, dinner both nights from Clancy’s Cantina on-site, two-night festival pass, and four drink tickets per night. The Green Room Membership includes an annual pass to all events for the next twelve months, including all the patron pass benefits. Please email Kevin@floridasurffilmfestival.com with any questions.

Jurors in attendance for the 2019 festival include Matt Warshaw, Encyclopedia of Surfing, Nathan Myers and Scott Hulet of The Surfer’s Journal, Chas Smith, Beach Grit, David Scales, Surf Splendor Podcast Network, Ashton Goggans, Stab Magazine, Marcus Sanders, Surfline, Mimi Munro, Dayla Soul, and Matthew Shaw, Surfer Magazine.

FSFF presents works throughout the year, all of which are included for competition for the 2019 festival.  Feature documentaries (longer than 30 minutes) have been curated with variety in mind. Zone Frequency by Jack Coleman (in attendance) and Spoons by Wyatt Daily and Justin Misch (in attendance) contrast in form with Jack’s work following a more surf-centric modern board revolution, and Wyatt and Justin’s work documenting a history of surfing in Santa Barbara as told through Renny Yater and George Greenough’s influence on board design.  From Ryan Birch, Derek Disney, and Bryce Young in Zone Frequency to Tom Curren and Parker and Conner Coffin in Spoons, the talent is top class.  Other notable selections include a foray into the snow and surf, some of which occurs during the night, with Fire on the Mountain, a new film by Chris Benchetler.  It’s entirely scored by The Grateful Dead, with narration by Bill Walton and starring Rob Machado.  Seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore stars in The Electric Acid Surfboard Test by Ashton Goggans (in attendance) and Dylan Roberts, which documents the latest in modern alternative design by several shapers, tested in crystal, clear water of East Africa.  Lost in Thought, a debut feature-length surf movie by Hunter Martinez finds its way to the big screen, full of young talent and incredible surf from Panama to points undisclosed.

A variety of short films including the latest installment of Cult of Freedom: Creed McTaggert by Joe G. will no doubt include the outermost edge of modern surfing action.  Boogie Man by festival veteran and award-winning director, Ben Gulliver, is a parody of the well-known surf-horror genre, and our 2nd ever non-documentary selection.  It’s a can’t miss…  Beth O’Rourke debuts a short documentary about Floridian skater/surfer Elissa Steamer, and Shin Aoki shares a long-practiced Japanese tradition called urushi, which is a lacquering process formerly used for chop-sticks, et al, but of course, they take their craft to wave riding tools in Beyond Tradition.  More action comes from the river this time; Zambia to be accurate.  Go Easy on the Zambezi explores the difficulties of riding waves in the heart of the African jungle in a new film by Ashton Goggans, among many other shorts.

Festival selections screened during February, June, and August are also included for competition.  They are listed below.

It’s been an incredible year, and there’s no way to thank all of the producers, directors, cinematographers, and editors that put their hearts and souls into these projects. Their stories are the ones we want to hear.

We recognize the difference between Best Documentary and Best Surf Movie.  Those who approach the art form by documenting, a character, locale, etc. with personal interviews, historical footage, and anecdotal clips will be in competition for Best Documentary, and those movies focusing on the high performance, action-driven sequences will compete for Best Surf Movie. This award will be extended to short films as well. In addition, Best Cinematography and Best Soundtrack will be awarded for both feature and short films, along with a Viewers’ Choice award.

Both evenings will be accompanied by tacos and poke bowls from our loyal sponsor Clancy’s Cantina, and suds by Cigar City Brewing. We’ll have some giveaways from Roark, YETI, Florida Virtual School, Total Vision, Red Dog Surf Shop, and more! Thanks so much for supporting our mission.

Check our website for an updated schedule, but here’re our estimated screen times:

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November 8, 2019

  • 4:30PM – Doors open
  • 5:30PM – Commencement with John Brooks, Festival Director
  • 5:35PM –
    • Norduland by Ishka Folkwell, 32 min.
    • Within Reach starring Josh Mulcoy by Mike Cochran, 22 min.
  • 7:00PM –
    • Sundaze by Nicole Tobin, 2 min.
    • Michael Dunphy by Jordan Montgomery, 13 min.
    • Fire on the Mountain starring Rob Machado and Jeremy Jones by Chris Benchetler, 27 min.
    • The Electric Acid Surfboard Test starring Stephanie Gilmore by Ashton Goggans and Dylan Roberts, 32 min.
    • Q & A with Ashton Goggans, 10 min.
    • Raffle – Dragon, The SurfNetwork, Roark, and more
  • 9:30PM –
    • The Scenic Route by Kyle Buthman, 17 min.
    • Zone Frequency starring Ryan Lovelace, Derek Disney, and Bryce Young by Jack Coleman, 42 min.
    • Q&A with Jack Coleman, 10 min.
    • Raffle – Firewire, YETI

November 9, 2019:

  • 4:30PM – Doors
  • 5:30PM –
    • Lost in Thought by Hunter Martinez, 37 min.
    • Go Easy on the Zambezi starring Dylan Graves, Michael February, and Harry Bryant by Ashton Goggans, 26 min.
    • Q & A with Ashton Goggans, 10 min.
    • Raffle – Various
  • 7:30PM –
    • Board Shop by Patrick Smith, 37 min.
    • Timeless Areas starring Elissa Steamer by Beth O’Rourke and Jeff den Broeder, 14 min.
    • Cult of Freedom: Creed McTaggert by Joe G., 12 min.
    • Boogie Man starring Pete Devries by Ben Gulliver, 27 min.
    • Beyond Tradition by Shin Aoki, 14 min.
    • Q & A with Beth O’Rourke and Shin Aoki – 10 min.
    • Raffle – Dragon, The SurfNetwork, Roark, and more
  • 9:30PM –
    • Spoons starring Renny Yater and George Greenough by Wyatt Daily and Justin Misch, 60 min.
    • Q & A with Wyatt Daily and Justin Misch, 10 min.
    • Raffle – Firewire and YETI

Previously screened films during 2019:

Features:

  • Beyond the Noise by Andrew Kaineder
  • Thank You, Mother by Ishka Folkwell
  • In the Dancing Days of Dawn by Chris Miyashiro
  • And Two If By Sea by Justin Purser
  • How to Learn to How to Surf by Pat Towersey and Tom Sachs
  • Self Discovery for Social Survival by Chris Gentile and Jodi Burian

Shorts:

  • Aloha, Brother by Sam Sykes
  • The Forgotten Archipelago by Ben Weiland
  • Isla De Los Bufalos by Gabriel Novis
  • Relatable Form by James Clower
  • Through the Storm by Greg McKillop
  • Le Cheile by Kev L. Smith
  • Camel Finds Water by Ian Durkin
  • Aquamantra by Cole Yamane
  • Railroad by Gustavo Imigrante

Juries include: Feature Films – Taylor Steele, Matt Warshaw, Keith Malloy, David Scales, Charlie “Chas” Smith, Lauren Hill, Matt Pruett, and Nathan Myers.  Short Films –Marcus Sanders, Scott Hulet, Ashton Goggans, Joe Turpel, Dayla Soul, Matthew Shaw, Mimi Munro, and Scotty Sherin.

We are proud to have Monster Energy serve as our presenting sponsor for this year’s festival, providing travel and lodging for the filmmakers who attend the festival.

Principal Sponsors:  Roark Revival, YETI, Surfline, Globe Brand Footwear, Anson Stoner (Advertising and Creative), and Atlantic Center for the Arts.

Major Sponsors: Firewire Surfboards, Creatures of Leisure, Florida Virtual School, Brian Layman Wealth Management, Red Dog Surf Shop, Kembali Board Shack, Café Verde, and Clancy’s Cantina

Sponsors: SurfEars, Scott Yurchison Real Estate, Dragon Alliance, LunDev Homes, New Smyrna Beach Brewing Company, Cigar City Brewing, Dex Imaging, Nixon, Mangrove Bay Design, Biological Consulting Services, New Smyrna Spine and Injury Center, Pura Vida Bracelets, La Ponderosa Beach and Jungle Resort, Total Vision, Funxion IT, Holistic Movements, Surfrider Foundation (Cocoa Beach and Flagler/Volusia Chapters), and Hampton Inn.

Media Partnerships include:  Surfline, The Surfer’s Journal, Surf Splendor Podcast Network, The SurfNetwork, and Encyclopedia of Surfing.

Encyclopedia of Surfing provides our historical and archival needs.

Florida Surf Film Festival mission: 

Florida Surf Film Festival’s is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to invigorate surf culture and artistic appreciation by exhibiting contemporary documentary films with surfing as a focus from artists far and wide and operate featured-artist workshops in journalism, photography, and filmmaking.

-Kevin Miller& John Brooks

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Future Dates:

2020 – March 7, June 20, August 22, and November 13th and 14th