Saturday July 24 the 3rd edition of the International Surf Film Festival closed off with a huge night, the stairs of the Discovery Mall amfitheatre and the beach were packed.

The evening started off with the documentary ‘God went surfing with the devil’ (Alexander Klein, 2010) on the surfing scene in Israel and Palestina. Next up was ‘Bloodlines’ by Salvador Cantellano. The director was there to introduce his high paced shortie.

A surprise visit was made by the crew of ‘Surfing the Nations’ who had just finished their boat trip around Lombok, Nusa Lembongan and the Gili islands for their ‘Surfers giving back’ campaign. Surfing the Nations made the opening night film ‘Gum for my boat’ with director Russell Brownley about the surfing streetkids in Bangladesh.

Special bonus tonight was the screening of ‘Innersection’, the new online surf and film project by Taylor Steele & Nathan Myers. The best of the summer round was presented in 15 minutes.

Closing night film ’Castles in the Sky’ (Taylor Steele, 2010) left the audience in awe. The inspiring and visual whirlwind was filmed in 5 different countries over the past 3 years. Nathan Myers (scriptwriter, set photographer and producer) and Logan (editor) were there to present the film.

After the films the stage was invaded by all the musicians which had been performing at Ombak Bali over the last few days. Yogyakarta reggae band Marapu and Bali based Pandora jammed till late with other musicians and pro surfer Rahtu Suargita.

And now for something completely different

Friday July 23 was a mellow night at ombak Bali. Dj Solomon (NY) spinned away, the audience gathered on the stairs of the seaside amfitheatre and the films started. First up were the winning shorts of the SURFILMFESTIBAL (Spain) surf short film contest. The jury prize winner ‘Birthright’ by Sean Mullens left the audience stunned.

Trailer Birthright

Main films were ‘Hanging Five’ about 5 California based artists which all find their inspiration in surfing and the new Patrick Trefz film ‘Ideosyncrasies’. With a lot of black & white images and jazzy sounds this film is way different from your average surf film.

Thursday night started with some mellow sounds by dj Solomon, people were chillin watchin the sun go down in a red & purple haze in the sea side amfitheatre at Kuta Reef and checnkin out the surf photo exposition.

First film was the world premiere of ‘Live the Search, Seven Ways’ about seven of surfing’s leading young faces on a quest for epic waves somewhere in the Indonesian archipelago. Director Pete Matthews and surfers Garut and Koa were there with some of the crew to present the film.

Main film of the night was the German surf flick ‘Keep Surfing’ by Bjorn Richie Lob, stunningly shot on various formats (incl 16mm and 35mm). The crowd was amazed by the river surfing scene in Munchen. Bjoern R. Lob himself was there to present his film and in the Q&A one of the Balinese surfers asked how the Germans managed to keep their rivers so clean!

After ‘Keep Surfing’ multi lingual rock/psychedelic/funk/blue jazz band Pandora rocked the stage.
Foto pandora

A whole lot of people attended the opening night which was held on a beautiful warm & dry (YES!) night in the outdoor amfitheatre on Kuta Reef beach.

First film was the short documentary ‘Gum for my boat’ which tells the inspirational story of street children on the Bangladesh south coast who join the local surf club.

After the film the award ceremony of the Ombak Bali/ Surf Time Magazine photo contest was held. Out of 50 internationally submitted photos a jury selected 2 winning shots: a self portrait of pro-surfer Mikala Jones in a barrel somewhere in Bali and runner up was a stunning photo by Brad Masters. Mikala Jones was there himself to receive the first prize.

An exposition with 14 photos from the surf photo contest can be visited daily at the festival venue till July 24.

The main film of the evening ‘Fiberglass and Megapixels’ started right after the event and gives a spectacular insight in the Hawaiian surf photography scene.

7 piece reggae band Marapu from Yogyakarta topped of the evening with their positive vibes. They just launched their new album ‘Peace, Love & Freedom’ and are on tour in Bali this week.

Thanks for the photos We Like and Nikko & Niko

The best of the second round of Taylor Steele’s new online project ‘Innersection’  will be screened Saturday night July 24 right before ’Castles in the Sky’.

www.innersection.tv

Don’t miss the premiere of this amazing river surfing flick on Thursday July 22 at 8pm. The director Björn Richie Lob will be there to present his film.

Björn Richie Lob’s exhilarating film debut took 10 years to complete. An avid river-surfer himself, he spent years convincing his friends to be on camera. The result is a kinetic and fast-paced documentary that will put you right on the Eisbach (German for “Ice-Brook”) in the heart of Munich, the river-surfing mecca of the world. The film is a portrait of six surfers, among them river-surfing pioneer Dieter “The Eater,” who still rides the waves every day with his two grown daughters, and Walter, “The Janitor of the Eisbach,” a working-class philosopher

www.keep-surfing.de

Artwork by lars Krupp www.ever-green.de

‘GUM FOR MY BOAT’ about Bangladeshi street kids joining the local surf club, beautifully shot this short feature is a true story of hope.

The main movie at 8pm is ‘FIBERGLASS AND MEGAPIXELS’ which shines a light on Hawaii’s north shore surfing scene. Swarms of photographers arrive in Hawaii every winter to focus their cameras on the best surfers in the world and working to get the right shot shot for the season. The surfing industry relies on these inspiring pictures to sell the dynamic surf images to the masses. This doc focuses on a classic group of professional surfers, photographers and cinematographers who share their perspective on what it takes and what it means to get that epic shot and live a life completely based around surfing.

7 piece reggae band Marapu will top off the evening with their inspiring & positive vibes.

Ombak Bali is FREE, outdoors and takes place on the seaside square of the Discovery Mall on jalan Kartika, Kuta Bali.