http://londonsurffilmfestival.com/tangaroas-cradle/

Thanks for your support!

The post River Surfing at the London Surf Film Festival appeared first on Riverbreak.

45 minutes outside of Calgary, Alberta, at 3500ft above sea level, the Kananaskis River churns out 1000 cubic feet of water per second during the day. At night the power dam is shut off, allowing river surfing revolutionaries Neil Egsgard and Jacob Kelly Quinlin to tweak their new designs for sculpting a world-class surfing wave. But they aren’t keeping this knowledge to themselves—they want to share their wave designs with everyone, everywhere, for free.

River surfing is still really new and we’re all connecting over this love of exploring and finding new waves (Jacob Kelly)

In 2005, Egsgard and Quinlin, amongst others, founded ARSA (Alberta River Surfing Association), which now represents over 100 river surfers in Alberta. Egsgard confirmed, “Surf Anywhere was born out of the need for ARSA to have a world class wave. This selfish quest quickly turned into a project to improve the world.” These guys aren’t really selfish though—they want to share their knowledge with river communities, everywhere. Any river community can access the open-source, easy-to-follow plans to build their own surfing waves.

The Surf Anywhere wave is based on the design of the Eisbach river wave in Munich, Germany, that surfers have been riding since 1972. ARSA has improved the original structural drawings to build and test a bigger, better and adjustable wave. “Because our river shuts off at night, we can afford to make mistakes,” said Quinlan.

According to Egsgard, all you need is a river with a minimum flow rate of 200 cubic ft./sec, a drop or slope of 1.7 ft., and $200.000 for the original start up costs. After the initial investment, there are no on-going costs. There are no pumps, just the natural force of the river, making this a sustainable project. Best of all—like surfing in the ocean—it’s free.

Notes from the Director Desiree Bilon

I was inspired by the Surf Anywhere story from the beginning. Here were these guys designing a wave on the Kananaskis River, 45 minutes from Calgary, and they were pursuing their dream from the funds they raised themselves. Plus, they were making the development plans open-source, so that they would available to anyone, anywhere for free.

I was already impressed, but it wasn’t until I met the surfers that I knew I had to tell their story. I’d been surfing for 12 years and had never come across a community of surfers like this. Everyone was kind, supportive and encouraging. There was no localism, no animosity, and people took turns. The scene was always fun and friendly, very unlike anything I’d ever experienced ocean surfing.

I’d wanted to make a documentary for many years, but something always seemed to get in the way—time, money, and surfing. After I injured my leg and wasn’t able to surf, I had more time and energy for writing, photography and film.

By the time I heard about the grant from STORYHIVE to produce a Digital Short, there wasn’t much time left to submit a pitch—maybe 10 days. Even though I’d always worked well under the pressure of a deadline, I thought I might not make this one. With the help and support of Glenn Dixon and many of the surfers, I was able to turn my vision into a reality and hand the pitch in on time. The Surf Anywhere documentary wouldn’t have happened without them.

STORYHIVE chose 15 winners in Alberta and I was one of them. I couldn’t believe it. There was a Winner’s Workshop in Edmonton that my brother Troy Bilon and I attended on December 6th, 2015. At the workshop, I met my mentor Ava Karvonen from NSI (National Screen Institute – Canada). Her feedback on this project was invaluable. After that, everything happened so fast.

Through this opportunity, I was able to become part of community of writers, producers and directors. This is how I connected with Carey Missler, another digital shorts competitor in British Columbia. Carey became our main cameraman and steadicam operator.

Some of the biggest challenges that came up during filming were the tight deadline—with only two months to produce the documentary and over the Christmas holidays; the cold temperatures; and the lack of daylight. But I’m not going to complain because all I had to do was film, whereas those guys were actually surfing.

With this film I wanted people to be able to experience what it is like to surf in an icy cold river in the middle of winter, while at the same time learning about the Surf Anywhere project. I wanted to capture these surfers in their element, and find out what river surfing means to them.

Surf Anywhere is my first film about river surfing, and surely not my last.

Main Characters

Neil Egsgard was born in Orillia, Ontario and is the regional manager for Carma Industries Inc, a wave builder, the founder of Surf Anywhere, and the President of the Alberta River Surfing Association (ARSA). He has been river surfing for 10 years.

Jacob Kelly Quinlan was born in Calgary, Alberta and is a river surf instructor/graphic designer. He has been river surfing for 10 years. He has travelled to more than 60 river waves around the world.

Justin Gullickson was born in Star City, Saskatchewan and is an audio video technician and an ambassador of Surf Anywhere. He has been surfing for 6 years.

Jason McQuade was born in Whitianga, New Zealand and is a surfboard shaper. He owns his own company called Wave Slayer Surfboards. He has been surfing in the ocean for 25 years and 5 years on rivers.

Desiree Bilon was born in Edmonton, Alberta and is now working as a documentary filmmaker. She has competed in surf contests internationally and has been ocean surfing for 12 years, and river surfing for one season.

Secondary Characters

Ben Murphy was born in Wollongong, Australia and works as a carpenter. He has been ocean surfing for 30 years and his first river surf was in 2001 in Munich. He is a professional surfer sponsored by Rip Curl, Lib Tech surfboards, and Spy Optics.

David Hernandez Cachero was born in Madrid, Spain and studied kinesiology. He works as a Canada Post mailman. He has been ocean surfing for 15 years and river surfing for 9.

Luciano Mariani was born in Calgary, Alberta but grew up in Chile. He works as a journeyman welder and an apprentice millwright. He has been river surfing for 5 years and ocean surfing for 3.

Robin Stolba was born in Marienbad, Czech Republic but grew up in Paris. Previously he was employed as a marine biologist. He has been surfing in the ocean for 15 years and river surfing for 1 year.

Tiffany Butler was born in Mayo, Quebec and works as a lawyer. She has been river surfing 1.5 years and skateboarding and snowboarding forever.

Mallory Chapman was born in Emerald Park, Saskatchewan, and is the owner of Studio Revolution (SURFSET Fitness Boutique). She has been surfing in the ocean for 8 years and in the river for one season.

Julia Barnes was born in Bratislava, Slovakia and is a stay-at-home mom and the owner/designer of Honubelle swimwear. She has been ocean surfing for 6 years, and in the river for one season.

Peron Desnoyers was born in Calgary, Alberta but grew up in Langley BC. He works as a Customer Service Supervisor 36 years old. He has been river surfing for 2 years.

Tristan Gaudet was born in Lac La Biche, Alberta and works as a cabinet installer and as a surfboard shaper. He has been river surfing for 2 years.

Key Production Personell

Desiree Bilon
Director producer and writer
Desiree Bilon is a writer, photographer and filmmaker. The first time she worked on set, she was a stand-in for Elle Macpherson during the filming of The Edge. From that point onward she was fascinated by the art of filmmaking and production. As a competitive surfer in 2012, Desiree was featured in two episodes of the Endorphin TV pilot in Mexico, but after sustaining a serious injury she moved back to Canada and won a scholarship from the Writers’ Trust of Canada to study creative writing at Humber College. For the past two years she has also been working as a professional photographer. Her writing and photographs have been published in print and online magazines such as, Great Ocean Quarterly, Kurungabaa, LATER, Matador Network and Planeta Surf. Desiree’s dream now is to inspire others with her films. Desiree received a STORYHIVE grant to produce her first short documentary, Surf Anywhere.

Glenn Dixon
Co-director, writer, editor, and music director
Glenn Dixon is a writer and documentary filmmaker. He has written for National Geographic magazine, the New York Post and many others. Glenn has published two books on adventure travel. His second book Tripping the World Fantastic, about music around the world, was shortlisted for the W.O. Mitchell award. He has traveled through more than 70 countries and has worked on films in Tibet, Guatemala and Jordan. His third book, Juliet’s Answer, which takes place in Italy, will be released internationally by Simon and Schuster (2017).

Carey Missler
Principal photography
Carey Missler is an award winning film director, producer, writer and cinematographer. In April of 2015 he won the “Award of Excellence” for directing The Paddler Movie, at the Canada International Film Festival. Carey also won the 2015 “Spirit Award” at the Toronto International Beaches Film Festival. His last movie “The Canadian Surfer movie” received worldwide distribution and was broadcast around globally.

Contact

The post Surf Anywhere: A Story of River Surfers in Alberta appeared first on Riverbreak.

What is your personal connection to surfing?

Surfing is my life.

You have an ocean surfing background, right? Tell us about it …

I have been surfing for 12 years in the ocean and surfed in over 13 countries.

Over the past decade I have worked in the surfing industry — as an ISA (International Surfing Association) certified Level 1 surf instructor, a surf tour guide, and as a surf writer in English, Italian and Spanish. I have surfed in competitions internationally, and have experience organizing events. In the past I worked as an editorial coordinator and in-house translator at a surf magazine in Mexico.

What is your personal connection to river surfing? What do you think makes river surfing special? What do you particularly like or don’t like about it?

I tried river surfing for the first time this past summer in Calgary, Alberta. It’s kind of funny because my boyfriend had to practically drag me there the first time and I was anything but convinced, but I had such a great experience that first day. One of the local surfers, Graeme Sams, gave me a lot of tips. He showed me the easiest way to enter the water, how to line up with the 10st bridge, and how to jump off the rock. River surfing was much more challenging than I had ever imagined—out of about 40 attempts, I probably stood 4 times—but after that first day, I was hooked. The next time I went surfing, Jacob Quinlan was there. He was very supportive and taught me how to acid drop into the wave and that’s when I actually started surfing a lot more waves.

Although river surfing is different from ocean surfing, there are some similarities. You are still outside, you are still in the water, you are still at the mercy of Mother Nature, and you still have to work hard. That element of danger is still present, but in a different form.

After I surfed The Mountain wave on the Kananaskis River – out in the mountains, I started to love river surfing.

When I first tried river surfing I didn’t like the fact that I was confined to stay in one place (and to a small wave, both in height and length). I like to move, to go places. I wasn’t going anywhere on the wave except when I wiped out and got swept downstream by the current. I enjoyed river surfing when I first tried it, but after I surfed “The Mountain” wave on the Kananaskis River – out in the mountains, I started to love river surfing.

What makes river surfing different are the people. I went from jockeying in the ocean line-ups with aggressive males (mostly teenagers) to surfing with people averaging the age of 30, who wait in line and make sure everyone has a turn.

Photo: Rob Bishop / rbishophoto.com

What is the surf culture like where you live?

Even though the ARSA (Alberta River Surfing Association) was formed about a decade ago, the surf culture here is still relatively new. The river surfing community is inclusive. Everyone I’ve met so far has been supportive, encouraging, and a lot of fun.

Let’s talk about your experience in filmmaking … When did you first start getting into filmmaking? Or is this your first project?

This is my first filmmaking project. I started off writing about surfing and then focused more on photography. Film was the next logical step. It was a natural progression for me to move into a medium that has the ability to capture movement and sound.

I love movies and have wanted to make a documentary for some time.

When did the idea for this film come to you?

I had started writing an article about the Surf Anywhere project about a year and a half ago, and a long time before I ever tried river surfing. I was inspired by Surf Anywhere’s sustainable project and their open-source plans for wave building.

The idea for the film came to me after I started surfing The Mountain and started to meet more of the people in the river surfing community. I realized that there were a lot of passionate and talented river surfers—most of them not from originally from Calgary or even Canada—and without knowing much about their stories, I knew that I wanted to share them.

What were people’s reactions when you talked about your idea?

Everyone’s response has been positive and enthusiastic.

Who’s going to be in this film and why?

The Alberta river surfing community will be in this film. The interviewees are in this film because of their stories.

A couple of additional surfers will be featured in the Surf Anywhere documentary, although they are not listed on Story Hive (there were only nine spots provided for the interview roster).

Surf movies have become a genre of their own over the last years. Which elements of a typical surf movie would you like to see / avoid in your film?

I want to tell a story through interesting characters and stunning images. There won’t be any big wave surfing or World Surf League pros in this documentary.

What do you think about interviews in surf movies? How relevant will interviews be for your film?

Interviews are an essential component of any documentary. Letting people tell their own stories, in their own words, brings authenticity to the project and makes it engaging for the audience.

Photo: Glenn Dixon

What is the target length of your film? Would you also think of an extended version?

10 minutes. I will definitely consider an extended version, in the future.

Do you already have a scene in mind that you consider particularly central to the film?

I envision a scene with snow. One of the river surfers, Justin Gullickson, talked about surfing in a blizzard and that image has never left my mind. I think that would make a great shot. Jason McQuade also mentioned something about an iceberg.

Where do you want to see your film being screened once it’s done?

Banff Mountain Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, and any surf film festival at all would be lovely

Who else (besides the local surf community) is supporting the project?

My friends and family, and the friends and family of the interviewees, have been supporting the project with their votes on Story Hive. Their response has been overwhelming.

What about the music in the film? Do you already have any thought on this?

I have a few ideas in mind.

What are some of your “high hopes” for the film?

I hope that river surfers everywhere will watch this film and enjoy it. I hope this film will inspire people—to build waves, to surf, to follow their dreams and live their passions.

How can the river surfing community help to make this film happen?

The river surfing community can vote daily on Story Hive to help us win a $10 000 grant to make this film project happen. There are only 7 voting days left.

It only takes 30 seconds to vote. You don’t need to sign up or create a profile – it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Click on the link below (and watch the one minute pitch video).
2. Click on the yellow “vote on project” button located in the upper right corner.
3. When the pop-up window opens, click on the yellow “vote now” button.

Please vote once a day, if you can, until noon on November 9, 2015. Thank you for your support.

http://www.storyhive.com/project/show/id/924

Three filmmakers who inspire you the most?

Danny Boyle, Sofia Coppola, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Sarah Polley.

Any last words?

Keep surfing and keep exploring.

Fill in the blanks

• I’d love to see __Elijah Mack__ in this film.
• I hope that people in __everywhere but especially Germany, Italy, and anywhere else there is a river__ will watch this film too.
• If money didn’t matter, this film would __be a feature length film about river surfing around the world and it would have the best soundtrack ever and be translated into many languages.

The post Desiree Bilon on the Surf Anywhere Film appeared first on Riverbreak.

The IMDb concludes that KEEP SURFING is “a fascinating look at Munich’s legendary river-surfing community, a group of six very different characters who all share a passion for going against the flow. The movie is an ode to individual freedom and to the people who’ve achieved happiness on a river wave, where they can go against the flow and find their place in life.”

Win 2 Free Tickets

Thanks to Björn, Riverbreak has the opportunity to give away 2 free tickets for the public viewing on August 6 in Munich.

KEEP SURFING Cast / Surfers

Meet these living legends in KEEP SURFING:

• Dieter Deventer
• Steffen Dittrich
• Mark Steffan Gassner
• Markus Knörringer
• Florian Kummer
• Carsten Kurmis
• Elijah Mack
• Matthias Ramoser
• Quirin Rohleder
• Gerhard Schlegel
• Kelly Slater
• Walter Strasser

Event Details

KultFilmnacht
August 6, Seebühne / Westpark, Munich
More details: http://www.kino-mond-sterne.de/kms.php/kultfilmnacht-der-stadtsparkasse-muenchen

The post Win Free Tickets to “KEEP SURFING” appeared first on Riverbreak.

Save the Date

Bern – 20 March 2014 – World Premiere – Kino Ciné Bubenberg
Zürich – 26 March 2014 – Riff Raff
Luzern – 27 March 2014 – Bourbaki
Genf – dates are comming soon – Cinéma Les Scala

What to Expect from I Wanna Surf?

Surfing is not really the first thing you would associate with this small landlocked country in the middle of Europe. And yet, there’s quite a bit going on in Switzerland. With no sea to surf, the Swiss surfers are forced to take every opportunity they get — be it on standing river waves, behind souped-up motor boards or simply with packed bags and a flight ticket. They seem to trace down every surfable wave in Switzerland, and they’re already regulars in the waves of the world.

There are surfers finding a home in a land without a sea and kids leaving the same country forever behind. How do the juggle their everyday work life with the urge to just grab a bag of boards and head for the shore? What is it that drives them? We join some of the most interesting and intriguing characters of the Swiss surfing scene on their search for the perfect wave and in their dream of, against all odds, doing what they love the most: surfing.

The Guys Behind I Wanna Surf

Timon Rupp
Director, Director of Photography

Alena Ehrenbold
Surfer, Producer

Sophie Bürgin
Creative Director, Producer

Michael Eymann
Creative Director, Producer

Starring
Jonas Studer, Philip Bienz, Alena Ehrenbold, Martin Suter, Andreas Wenger, Rachel Riner and others.

More at: http://iwannasurf.ch | info@iwannasurf.net

The post I Wanna Surf: World Premiere appeared first on Riverbreak.