Category Archives: Entertainment
Postcards from the South West
Some behind the scenes pics from the South West leg of our journey. The weather was cruel, the waves were unreliable but the people we met were brilliant! As expected the Cornish were welcoming, entertaining and very proud of their rich surf history.
It was a pretty hectic shoot from a crew point of view and it’s fair to say that mine and James’ schedule was a little ambitious! As a team we quickly bonded (sharing caravans makes that pretty essential) and we soon got in sync and worked through the inevitable technical teething problems, largely based around the nano-flash recorder that kept cutting out mid take!
All in all, an awesome first leg to the journey. Shed loads of footage in the can and a real sense that after months of planning we were finally making the film that we’ve all talked and dreamed about, very happy days in the Endless Winter camp!
We learn something new everyday, that’s for sure!
We have started our journey roaming around close to home here in Cornwall. There are many characters here that we have already been lucky enough to meet and get to know through surfing but actually having a chance to sit down and hear about their youth has been such a privilege and I’m so excited to hit the road and meet some more classic characters. I can only imagine that the surfers further North are hardcore, dedicated surfers and will have some stories that will make me and Egor feel like we should stop whinging when we are cold, as we have wetsuits and accessories that those guys could of only dreamed about….
Next stop on the journey… Brighton! What an experience for Egor and me as Brighton’s the complete polar opposite to what we are looking for when it comes to a surf destination. We spend most of our time searching in the quietest places we can find. Not because we don’t like socialising, haha, it’s just that quiet places usually mean less crowds in the water. This is not a problem in a place like Brighton though as it may be very crowded on land, but not in the water that’s for sure!
So the Severn Bore next, Yeeeehhhaaa!
What a trip to Brighton! We managed to meet up with two very upbeat characters, Sean Mahoney and Jock Paterson to get some great inside info on what it’s like to be a surfer in such a built up area and how the local non-surfers looked upon the so called surf bums in the early days. As the surfs so inconsistent down there, you can see how other board sports such as skateboarding and Stand Up Paddle Boarding have been a great distraction when the flat spells hit hard. (Find out more about Jock Paterson and Stand Up Paddle Boarding at www.tribalwave.org).
So the Severn Bore next, Yeeeehhhaaa! Me and Egor are so excited for this as we have never done anything like it. It looks so different to surfing in the sea, but you can still see that it gets the adrenalin flowing as it roars up river towards you! It’s so cool that so many people can surf the same wave and have so much fun. As there is only one wave it’s got us a little nervous about falling. One of us is bound to have a shocker. Haha.
The Severn Bore, A Birds Eye View…
As Mark and Mitch are surfing the Bore during a high autumn tide they will have 3 attempts at catching it, two early morning Bores and a night Bore (in the pitch black).
The setting for attempt 1 was pretty epic. After a 5.30 wake-up call we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise revealing a low mist that had covered the river bed. As we watched (and attempted to film) from the river bank all we could really see were shadows in the mist. Luckily we had Mr. B in the water with the boys so we weren’t going to miss a thing.
While the boys paddled out and waited we were lucky enough to meet Phil, a paramotor pilot who had come to fly over the Bore. Phil has very kindly donated the following footage to the film shot during his flight (look out for Mitch and Egor centre of shot at then end).
The Prince and the P… J
What a pleasure it was spending a day with Pete ‘PJ’ Jones in Llangeneth, Wales (despite the rain). Such an incredible life PJ’s had, he’s rubbed shoulders with everyone. Here’s a little snippet from the interview…
Life on the road with Welsh Pro Nate Phillips
In my late teens/early twenties I spent a lot of time traveling and competing with Nathan ‘Nate’ Phillips, one of the most talented surfers to come from Wales and I can say these were some of the best times of my life. Firstly competing on the European Pro Junior series which Nate came runner up on one year, then around the world on the World Qualifying Series. Wherever we went for a contest Nate was frothing for everything with a positive attitude which was ace to be around. Charging the heaviest barrels, partying all night at the contest parties which were everywhere, never missing a dawnie surf session and trying to make heats to pay for the trip to the next event was the routine. Such good times. So it was ace to catch up with Nate and the llantwitt boyos for a loose sesh.
The Daily Mail online reports on big wave riding in the UK
The Cribbar has been working again this week, as dramatically reported by the Daily Mail online, including a very nice link to The Endless Winter; Episode One! Cheers
A night on the Toon
The most unusual stop on the trip had to be Tynemouth in Newcastle. The non-surfers amongst the crew were pretty surprised to learn that one of the biggest cities in the UK (better known for it’s industry and ‘The Toon’) has a thriving surf scene and boasts some of the most successful surfers in the UK.
Sadly we saw no sign of waves on our trip to Tynemouth but we did get to meet up with local legend Gabe Davies, hear about his amazing big wave riding career and, while in our first city in quite a while we thought it would rude not to see what the Geordies get up to at night – please ask Mitch Corbett for more details!
Scotland – The final leg…
After 5 weeks on the road there was a slight sense of delirium as we crossed the boarder into Scotland. We made it to our Bothy after dark and enjoyed a cosy night of man bonding before getting back on the road.
We couldn’t pass Loch Ness without a quick dip. After a morning of drizzle and fog the clouds lifted and we all enjoyed a half-hour swim with Nessie. Unquestionably one of the most stunning places I’ve been and a really amazing moment for all of us. Respect to cameraman Alex and soundman Joe who went in armed only with their good humour!
The charts had been disappointing in England and Wales but all signs suggested that Thurso was going to pump, by the time we’d passed Inverness you could hear Mitch, Egor and Mr. B frothing from 100yards!
Scotty, bothy, deep fried dobby
Hills, valleys, rivers, forests and lots of winding roads, that’s the road to Thurso East! I was buzzing to be heading across the Scottish border, and heading north on the final stretch of The Endless Winter road trip.
On the way up it was ace to meet Scottish pioneer Andy Bennett and see his archive of shots from early surf-trips. His pictures from the 1981 European champs held at Thurso were classic.
Heading on through the highlands it was a familiar route, my mind always wanders to the movie Braveheart and how hardcore it must have been to survive in those times up here!
I always feel a little excited when arriving at Thurso, so many good times have been had there, in and out of the sea. The weather charts looked pretty wild, with little windows of potential to get some waves. That first window came on our first morning, so Mitch and myself were up in the dark to catch the right wind and tide and had a real fun session with hollow ones. It’s been a long summer in Cornwall so I was buzzing to get barreled!
Over the next couple of days I competed in the UK Pro Surf Tour event. Its the comp all the boys want to perform in as it’s almost always held in good, powerful waves and this year was no exception. The comp was won by Micah Lester (see vid below).
Straight after the contest it was a traditional night out with the surf tour boys in Thurso. Sadly the legendary Skinandi’s (the most northerly nightclub on mainland UK) was closed, but a cracking night none the less.
The next day it was as if winter had announced its arrival. A series of stacked swells marching across the North Atlantic giving us our opportunity to score some epic waves, the search was on! Always an exciting time…
We made it!
It was an epic journey to say the least and as well as growing impressive beards we’ve all grown a little bit as surfers and filmmakers. Over the past five weeks we’ve slept in caravan parks, Scottish Bothy’s, city youth hostels and one luxury pad (some of us even got to have our own beds!) We’ve met over 50 surfers and the boys have been for a surf/paddle in one Ocean, two Seas one Loch and one dirty River.
A massive thanks to everyone that helped us along the way and to all of the surfing crews that made us so welcome – still can’t believe they let us in the Badlands! Big up to the Ford S-MAX massive who made the trip possible, sorry about the missing wing mirror and the smell, that was Mr. B’s wetsuit.
Keep up to date with the edit on the blog. The next episode will be released online this Friday.
One last shoot for 2011
What better way to finish the year than to catch up with Mitch and Egor in Newquay for an end of year surf. We wanted to get a few shots of the boys surfing in some pretty undesirable conditions and the good old British weather kindly delivered torrential rain and howling winds all day, perfect!
A massive thanks to everyone for their support this year, the edit is coming together nicely and we’re all frothing about 2012 and the release of the film. Watch this space.
Meet the Filmmaker: Mr B
Great interview with our boy Anthony Butler aka Mr B about his amazing career as a Sea Otter. Some very kind words about Endless too…
http://www.londonsurffilmfestival.com/meet-the-filmmaker-anthony-butler
Episode 3 “London-By-The-Sea; Riots on the Beaches, Surfers in the Soup”
Brighton is more famed for jellied eels and rebellious youth cultures than it is for it’s inconsistent surf. Nevertheless, a thriving community of passionate and committed surfers has emerged from it’s embryonic stages in the mid 60s, when a small group of Brighton locals first paddled out against a backdrop of warring mods and rockers.
Just as surf culture had made its way across the Altantic in the early 60s so too did ‘sidewalk surfing’ in the mid to late 70s. Naturally the local surf crews quickly developed a synergy with skateboarding as it helped to get them through the flat spells. At the heart of this scene was, and still is, Brighton legend Jock Paterson a top-surfer, champion skateboarder and now a leading figure in British Stand Up Paddle Boarding (www.tribalwave.org).
Images courtesy of; Robert Vente (http://www.ventephoto.com) & Jock Paterson
Archive courtesy of; Three S Films (www.threesfilms.com) & Richard Gayer, James Street Productions – Hot Wheels n Big Deals
Music; The Lurkers – Ain’t Got A Clue
Could Bristol be the UK’s next surf spot?
A man-made wave park is being built in Shirehampton, Bristol. Have a look at the promo above and check out Cornwall’s Reubyn Ash, a gaggle of Pro surfers and some pretty awesome local kids putting the Basque Country facility through it’s paces below…
Exciting times for Mark and Egor’s boardshaper Luke Hart.
Luke is one of the most dynamic board shapers in the country and he’s just started his own company ‘Fourth Surfboards’ in Newquay. Check out his site here, inspiring stuff! http://fourthsurfboards.com/
Luke will be making a customised surfboard for one of our followers, to find out more and to enter, follow this link… http://mpora.com/endlesswinter/competition/
Looking for soundtrack inspiration…
We’re very exited to be working with Blaine, George and John – aka Hotel Flamingo on a musical score for the film. On top of this we’ll also be getting our hands on some classic tunes from yesteryear…
So we want to know what songs/bands you feel have been (or are still) synonymous with the British surf scene? Whether from the 50s, 60s 70s, 80s or 90s what were you listening to and what sums up the era?!
As you’ll have heard in the online films we’re featuring Cream, The Dakotas, The Lurkers, Rory Gallagher and, for a present day sound we’re in talks with Ben Howard. But what are we missing??
Please post any suggestions below, add a link too…
An XXL week for British surfing
For anyone who’s finding out about British and Irish surfing for the first time through Mitch and Egor’s journey, you’ve started following at a pretty amazing time!
Last week a monster swell hit the West Coast of Ireland and a host of top British and Irish big wave surfers were ready and waiting for it. The infamous Mullaghmore Head was soon producing waves of up to 50 feet… certainly not for the inexperienced or faint hearted!
As a result of the session British surfers Gabe Davies, Andrew Cotton and Tom Butler have all been nominated for the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. This is the ultimate accolade for a big wave surfer and a pretty outstanding achievement for the British and Irish surf scenes. Check out the videos and vote!
http://www.youtube.com/user/BillabongXXL
Our boy Mitch has also been out in Ireland all winter, he’ll be letting us know what he’s been up to next week.
Top 5: Surf Movies
During a recent evening, spent chewing the fat, we decided it was about time we put some Top 5 lists together… So here’s the first; let us know what we’ve missed and what we really shouldn’t have included!
(playlist here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL66781E4D66D32102)
Mitch’s Choices
Drifting - Rob Macado in his prime.
Occy: The Occumentary - Mark Occhilupo is a living legend, and his story is inspiring.
Kelly Slater in Kolor - this had me buzzing all through Grommethood.
Thicker Than Water - simply beautiful.
Land of Saints - reminds me of being young and of home.
Egor’s Choices
Raw Irons - exactly what it says on the tin.
Billabong Challenge – All soo good.
Filthy Habits – The way it’s shot with the footage and era of music is all time.
The Powers of Three- Epic and Inspiring.
On the Road with Spike - Watched it and loved it a million times, the soundtrack in engrained on my brain.
The Director’s Choices
Riding Giants – The single biggest filmic influence on The Endless Winter.
The Endless Summer - Simply Great.
Big Wednesday - now this is a proper movie!
Point Break – Uh oh, surfing just went mainstream.
Blue Juice - this one’s Matt’s choice, but he stands by it! (I’d have gone for Bustin’ Down the Doors)
Museum of British Surfing
On Thursday night (5th April) we were absolutely stoked to attend the long awaited opening of the Museum Of British Surfing in Braunton, Devon.
The Museum was originally founded in 2003 by Pete Robinson, becoming the first surf museum in Europe, and for a number of years it has been running purely as a mobile museum with exhibitions in surfing communities all around the UK.
We’ve been working with Pete and the museum across the more historical sections of The Endless Winter, and so we’ve already been very privileged to see a number of the exhibits that are now on display. Here’s a taster of a few images from the collection that will be appearing in the film.
www.museumofbritishsurfing.org.uk
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- Museum Of British History
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- Prince Edward VIII surfing in Hawaii in 1920. The earliest known image of a British stand-up surfer.
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- Early surfer and renowned crime writer Agatha Christie at Waikiki beach, Hawaii in 1922.
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- Lewis Rosenberg on holiday in Cornwall. This image is taken from his surfing home-movie shot around 1929.
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- Pip Staffieri holding his 13ft hollow wooden surf board in around 1939.
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- Early surf riding in Newquay
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- Early surfers from around 1920 proudly displaying their ‘coffin lid’ boards.
The ‘Endless’ Edit – First cut ready to go…
After 6 long months in a dark edit-suite, we have emerged with the first cut of our feature film!!
There’s still a long way to go before it’s revealed to the public this summer but it’s definitely – a film, with amazing surfing, beautiful archive, a sick soundtrack and some pretty outstanding yarn spinning from over 40 charters in British surfing. It’s looking pretty darn good if we do say so ourselves.
A massive thanks to everyone that’s helped us get to this stage – Ford S-MAX, Mr B, Simon ‘the animator’ Ball, John Adams, the Museum of British Surfing, Alex, Ross, ‘Crazy’ Joe Bone, and the list goes on…
We’re now off to London town to show the cut to some very important folk. Fingers crossed, this could mean big things for our little film.
Cheers everyone
Matt, James, Mitch and Egor
Top 5: Surfers
Ok, so here’s our next Top 5…Surfers!
We’ve spent ‘hours and hours’ debating who should and shouldn’t be in there, and yet it appears that we might have made a pretty big omission… Oops!
(web links where available/found)
Mitch’s Choices
Rob Machado - I could watch him all day long.
Shane Dorian - All rounder and a half!
Dane Reynolds - New schools, old school!
Craig Anderson - Letting loose stylishly!
Mark Harris - A genuine inspiration when I was a grom; has the best looking carve on earth!
Egor’s Choices
Joel ‘Parko’ Parkinson - Nobody ever as stylish on right-hand point breaks…ever!
Mark ‘Occy’ Occhilupo – Legend!
John John Florence – A freak of nature in 1 foot to 20 foot waves.
Tom Curren – A master of style without even trying.
Neil Harris - My old man, an inspiring big grommet!
The Director’s Choices
Pete ‘PJ’ Jones - As charismatic, stylish and inspirational today as he has ever been!
Rodney Sumpter - A game changer when he returned to the UK from Oz in the mid 60s.
Greg Knoll - An original big wave charger, and a big part of the epic film Riding Giants.
Laird Hamilton - A force of nature in big/huge waves and another star of Riding Giants.
Mitch Corbett / Mark ‘Egor’ Harris - Tough to choose between these guys! Both incredibly talented with an absolute passion for surfing and for surfing the best of British waves. They’ve made the project an absolute pleasure!
Honourable mention goes to the omitted…Kelly Slater!
$100,000 for the best surf film…
For those of you that know about the Innersection Film Project, here’s this years winning section – The surfer is Albee Layer, the film-maker is Elliot Leboe – Nice…
For those of you that don’t know what Innersection is; it’s a surf-film contest, and it’s a pretty big deal in the surfing world. Renowned film-maker Taylor Steele invites Surfer/Filmmaker teams from all over the world to upload a short film to the Innersection website. The surfing world then votes and the top 20 vids get the honour of being on an annual DVD, released globally. The best section then wins $100,000 – not bad!
Congratulations also to Britain’s Reuben Ash and Tim Boydell who won through the rounds and were among the teams that made the final 20 – an amazing achievement and the only European’s to do so!
You Should Have Been Here Yesterday – From the Cutting Room Floor, no.1
Now we’re in the final stages of the edit we’re having to make some really tough decisions and inevitably we’re finding that some sections are having to end up on the cutting room floor… One tough call that we’ve had to make has come from Wales, where we’ve found that there’s just too many characters and stories to fit in!
Unfortunately the Welsh Dragon didn’t roar when we met up with Nate Phillips, Beth Mason and Dean Pageo in South Wales, so the waves were far from their best. None the less everyone caught some nice fun waves in a beautiful little spot somewhere near Cardiff(ish)!
An awesome day and a great night at Nate’s local boozer. It’s that old classic line “you should have been here yesterday!”
Enjoy
Surfers - Nathan Phillips, Beth Mason, Dean Pageo, Mark Harris, Mitch Corbett
Music – Hotel Flamingo; Travelling Theme
Hat’s off to surf-videographer Mickey Smith
A massive congratulations to Surf Videographer Mickey Smith and DOP Allan Wilson who won the award for ‘Best Action Sports Film’ at the prestigious Vimeo Awards last night.
Mickey and Allan’s film ‘Dark Side of the Lens’ blew us away with the beautiful visuals and story telling. What stands out most about this amazing short though is Mickey’s passion. The guy’s a lunatic on so many levels and he’s doing what he loves and making a living doing it. He’s managed to express that beautifully in the film and inspired others to follow their passion rather than a regular pay cheque.
Mitch has been in Ireland filming with Mickey this winter, and is due to spend a few more months with him later in the year, so we’re really excited to see the outcome.
Well done gents!
Mitch goes wave hunting, way up North…
Nothing get’s Mitch and Egor ‘frothing’ more than hunting for undiscovered waves here in the UK. With over 5000 miles of coast out there, who knows what could be round the next corner. Up in the Orkney Islands the curious site of Mitch Corbett skipping around the headlands hunting for waves has caught the attention of the local rag.
Wet Wales – trip highlights
All this ‘tropical’ weather is bringing back fond memories of our trip to Wales back in September. The waves were pretty small, the sky was grey, but the Welsh hospitality was warm as ever. Thanks again to PJ, Linda, Nate, Beth and the Llantwit Major crew…
Time to get this film seen!!!
So it’s been 9 months since our journey began, we’ve been some places, seen some sights, filmed a lot of things and we now have a full feature film very nearly ready to show the world!
There are no exact dates or locations yet but we’re planning to get the film to a cinema, beach and TV screen near you soon! Initial talks are with a very well know UK broadcaster, an open air venue in the South West and a collection of cinemas everywhere from Brighton to Belfast. It’s a British film so we want it to be shown all over Britain!
If you know of screening events/festivals that you think we should be talking to, let us know and we’ll look into it.
Watch this space for news of the Premiere very soon!
The Archive Hunt…
One of the best things about making a historical film is the opportunity to trawl through hundreds of hours of cine-reels, VHS and Super 8…and rest assured there are some absolute treasures that have been locked away in archive houses and surfer’s lofts!
Our favourite find so far came courtesy of Marj and Peter Ganz, wife and son of the late Viv Ganz. Viv was Wales’ first known stand-up surfer so we naturally wanted to find some footage or images of him surfing.
The footage of Viv and the early Langland crew is amazing, massive boards, dodgy wetsuits, classic haircuts, and all in glorious technicolor!
Also among Viv’s reels were two unexpected treasures; a pair of classic Hawaiian and Californian surf films. One is a 1960 John Severson movie (the founder of Surfer mag) and the other is an amazing film called ‘Riding the Crest’ from 1939! Really rare finds and some mind blowing footage.
Here’re a few screen grabs from Viv’s reels, it’s going to make for a beautiful section.
Mitch and Egors new motor!!??
The Endless Winter Ford S-MAX (or White Lightning as she became more affectionately known) was an absolute trooper and got us around the country in style, but – should we make a sequel… can we make an early request to Ford that Mitch and Egor’s S-MAX get pimped to this spec. If you could also clear all the roads in Cornwall for a few hours that would be sweet. Lock up your puppies…
Meet Oli Adams…
Mitch and Egor aren’t the only guys hunting for new waves in the UK… Meet Oli Adams;
While Mitch was in Ireland and Egor was at home looking after his new arrival, Oli Adams and Endless Camera Op Tim Boydell took ‘White Lightning’ (the Endless S-MAX) on a journey to find new waves in the UK. They weren’t disappointed! Beautifully captured as always by Mr Boydell…Enjoy!
Episode 7; Britain’s Greatest Ever Surf Explorer
Long before surfing became ‘the epitome of cool’ one man subconsciously set out to discover and expose the best surf breaks in the world – and didn’t he do well…
Don’t miss The Endless Winter, Sunday and Tuesday’s on Channel 4. A three part series exploring and celebrating the wonderfully eccentric British surf culture and it’s many characters.
Director of Animation; Simon Ball
Character Animation; Michael Rokes
Voice Over Artist; Alex Richardson
Sound design; Brian Moseley
Your Thoughts – The Endless Winter Ep1 on Channel 4?
A mind-blowing 164 thousand viewers tuned in for The Endless Winter; Episode 1 on C4 last night, hopefully you enjoyed it?!
So, let us know what you thought. Feel free to post comments and questions below and we’ll (film-makers and surfers) get back to you.
If you don’t know what we’re talking about, watch this and get involved…http://www.channel4.com/programmes/surfing-special-the-endless-winter
Free National Screening Tour Announcement
Over the next two months we’ll be holding FREE screenings of The Endless Winter all over the UK.
Reserve your ticket for the first 3 tour dates by following the link below, tickets are limited so book now:
30th Aug (next Thursday) – Fistral Beach Newquay.
2nd Sept (next Sunday) – The Duke of York Cinema, Brighton.
9th Sept – The Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle.
Further screenings will be held in Plymouth, Swansea, Scarborough, Nottingham, Thurso and hopefully more. Dates to be announced soon so join our mailing list to be kept up to date. We hope to meet you there.
http://www.theendlesswinter.co.uk/tickets/
More Screening Dates announced – We’re heading North(ish)…
Two more chances to see The Endless Winter in the Cinema if you live in the Midlands or the North East…
Nottingham (The Savoy Cinema) 20th September.
Scarborough (The Spa) 23rd September.
Book your FREE tickets here http://www.theendlesswinter.co.uk/tickets/
The Screening tour begins…
A massive thanks to everyone that joined us in Croyde, Newquay and Brighton to watch The Endless Winter on the big screen. Croyde was the most mellow cinema ever with double deck chairs and a very warm welcome from the locals, Brighton was in a stunning old cinema with an HD screen, unquestionably the best we’ve ever seen the Endless waves.
Newquay was a bit of a risk – a screening on a pretty windy, chilly Fistral beach but it couldn’t have gone any better. Around 500 people joined us to watch the film and everyone seemed to enjoy it, laughing and whooping at all the key points. By the last half hour we were fully expecting most people to have run for the warmth of the bar but the crowd remained glued all the way to the end. In retrospect it may have been hypothermia that kept everyone frozen on the beach but either way it was a wonderful sight!
Next stop is Newcastle, some tickets still available so please join us this Sunday (9th) at the Tyneside Cinema. http://www.eventzilla.net/web/event?eventid=2138966991
The Endless Winter is on Channel 4 tonight at Midnight!
Set your alarms and/or recorders, The Endless Winter – A Very British Surf Movie is on Channel 4 tonight at midnight.
As proud as we are of the recent C4 episodes, this is the full 90 minute feature length version – as it was intended to be seen! There’s nearly 30 minutes of additional footage and for us it has a more natural flow and a real sense of journey.
We hope you enjoy it, keen to hear feedback.
Thanks, The Endless Winter Crew.
2 more chances to see The Endless Winter on the big screen…
Tickets are now on sale for…
Jersey – 24th + 25th September:
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A FREE SCREENING
Polzeath, Cornwall – 26th September:
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A FREE SCREENING
99% confirmed and soon to be announced – Plymouth, Swansea, Thurso. Watch this space…
The Endless Winter selected for The London Surf Film Festival!
Text courtesy of LSFF…
We are thrilled to announce that we’re hosting the London Premiere of “The Endless Winter: A Very British Surf Story” at this year’s London Surf / Film Festival!
When we established the festival, one of our aims was to support and promote home grown surf filmmaking talents and when we heard about independent filmmakers Matt Crocker and James Dean’s hugely exciting very British project, we knew ‘The Endless Winter’ was a film we wanted to get behind.
Following British pro surfers Mitch Corbett and Mark Harris as they journey around our island’s coastline, the film takes in some of our best waves, meeting characters along the way who have helped shape our unique British surf scene. Combining archive footage, surf action, interviews and animation this really is a must watch for surf and culture aficionados alike.
What’s more we’re offering the tickets to the film for free, yes, FREE! The special matinee screening which takes place on Sunday 14th October 14.00 will be followed by a talk with Director James Dean and accompanied by a shortlisted Shortie, ‘The Dimming Tide’ which explores a very unique surf scene on the east coast of Ireland. Tickets are limited, so don’t miss out. To reserve your FREE TICKETS, click HERE.
Mitch heads to Iceland with B.A.S.E jumper Matthias Giraud
With an ambitious winter of exploration planned here in the UK, Mitch has been up in Iceland lowering his core body temperature and getting his adrenalin up. How? By paddling around icebergs and jumping out of Aeroplanes, as you do.
Travelling with big mountain skiier and B.A.S.E jumper Matthias Giraud, Mitch has been up in Iceland for a short trip and the boys have made the most of their time as you can see in the action packed news report on Icelandic TV.
Wales, Scotland, Bristol. The Endless Tour Is Coming To An End…
Only 3 more chances to catch the Endless Winter on the big screen:
Stackpole, Pembrokeshire, Wales – 26th October: ORDER NOW
Thurso, Scotland, Wave North Festival – 27th October: FREE SCREENING - MORE INFO
Bristol, The Cube Cinema - 30th October: TICKETS ON THE DOOR ONLY – MORE INFO
DVD ORDER
The Endless Winter will be available to buy on DVD in November – ready for Christmas! Click the email link up on the right to request notification upon release.
The ‘Award Winning’ Endless Winter!!!
After many years of hard work we can finally call ourselves award winning film-makers after The Endless Winter picked up ‘Best British Film’ at the London Surf Film Festival last weekend.
As a pair of ‘kooks’ we [Matt and James the Directors] always wanted to make a film that the UK surf scene would be proud of, so this award means the world to us.
Huge thanks to Chris & Demi for their amazing job with the festival, and also to absolutely everyone who’s been involved in the project! It’s been a long ol’ journey but so so worth it!
Time to get the sequel off the ground… watch this space…
Click here to see all the winners
Images by Simon Plunket
Rick Griffin – Perhaps the most influential artist you never heard of
Our American chum Steve Barilotti (Surfer Magazine) is making a film about iconic Californian artist Rick Griffin. Steve is looking for funding to make this epic doc, to find out more and get involved please follow the link below.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/49615095/griffin-the-film
Griffin and British surfing…
Back in the early days of our research for The Endless Winter we heard about a 1960s American comic strip drawn by Griffin that mocked the very notion of surfing in the UK – we had to see it!
We eventually made contact with Ida Griffin and Steve Barilotti who very kindly sent us a copy of the comic and it proved to be a classic example of how the Californian’s viewed British surfing back in the 1960s. This cynical but humorous outsiders perspective became the inspiration for our opening mock-newsreel that Steve helped us to write.
As Steve Barilotti explains – “Griffin and Stoner In Merry Olde England” [published in Surfer Magazine] was likely drawn in late spring 1966 as one of the dozen or so Griffin-Stoner Adventures that Rick created for Surfer from 1965-1967.
Rick had never been to the UK or France or even Hawaii up to that point. Rick’s take on English culture was taken mostly from Mad Magazine and Hollywood stereotypes, which makes them all the more endearing. But you have to understand this in context. Up to the late 60s air travel was expensive and mass tourism has yet to manifest. When the Beatles and Stones landed here in 1964 the English were as alien as moon men (and just as comprehensible) to most Americans. In 1966 “English” meant Winston Churchill, Terry Thomas and Dick Van Dyke doing a ‘orrible Cockney accent in Mary Poppins.’
Thanks again to Steve, Ida and Rick for giving us this brilliant insight. Very excited to see Steve’s film come to life and learn more about the infamous Rick Griffin.
The Endless Winter – Home-coming Screening. Bristol.
Since our preview screening in Croyde back in mid August, the Endless Winter has been seen by thousands of people in 15 different venues around the UK, and after nearly 3 months on the road the Endless tour has (nearly) come to an end.
A massive thanks to everyone that’s joined us around the UK, from Newquay to Nottingham, Scaborough to Swansea, it’s been an incredible journey and apart from the guy that fell asleep and snored in Newcastle, everyone seems to have enjoyed it!
Join us (the crew), the surfers and our friends from Wavegarden UK for our final screening in Bristol tomorrow night (Tuesday 30th October) at the Cube Cinema. Tickets available on the door only - MORE INFO
DVD ORDERS…
The Endless Winter will be available to buy on DVD w/c 12th November – ready for Christmas! It’ll be available on amazon and in all good shops. If you are a surf shop owner and would like to stock the film, please drop us a line at info@levelfilms.co.uk.
Thanks again everyone.
The first international screening of The Endless Winter will be in… ahem… Hawaii!
After a great screening tour around the UK we’re keen to take a slice of British surf history to international waters. First stop will be the Waimea Ocean Film Festival in Hawaii, January 2013.
We hope the Hawaiian’s approve of our (slightly tongue in cheek) take on Captain Cook’s exploration of Hawaii and Princess Kaʻiulani’s time surfing here in the UK.
The festival will take place in Hualalai on the Big Island 3-11 Jan 2013, so if you happen to be in the area come along, we’ve heard it’s very nice!
New Film from Mr B – Out in December.
Our fearless surf videographer Anthony Butler, aka Mr B has had a busy year and he’s finally emerged from the edit with a teaser for his new film – ‘Relative’. As we’ve come to expect with Mr B, it looks stunning!
The 30 minute surf film stars surfing brothers Ed and Jak Smith from Cornwall and has been produced by Mr B’s new venture Our World Is Blue. The film will be premiered on Saturday the 8th of December, guaranteed to be a great night, info below.
The Boondock Hippy
3 months ago we were contacted on Twitter by a character known simply as The Boondock Hippy (@boondockhippy). He tweeted us to let us know that he’d seen the film and had been inspired to write a blog about it…which we thought was very nice of him!
Since then we’ve received a few more sporadic tweets from him, and he’s been doing his level best to encourage all of his Followers to watch the film…something which we wholeheartedly support!
And then this weekend we received a couple more tweets to say that he’d been inspired to such an extent that he’d decided to go and write and produce a couple songs…which is quite frankly bloomin brilliant!
Enjoy;
@boondockhippy The Boondock Hippy-Maverick inspired by @LevelFilms The Endless Winter. It’s a song dedicated to all UK surfers -enjoy! http://m.soundcloud.com/theboondockhippy/the-boondock-hippy-maverick
@boondockhippy Another song I wrote inspired by @LevelFilms The Endless Winter called “Seekers”. Hope u enjoy http://m.soundcloud.com/theboondockhippy/the-boondock-hippy-seekers
Endless DVD’s selling out!
Thanks to everyone that’s bought Endless on DVD over the past month, it’s really exciting that so many people want it on their DVD stack this Christmas. Sales have been so good that we’ve now sold 3/4 of our first run.
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We’ll be printing another batch in the New Year but if you’d like to get the film for Christmas grab it while you can from the following shops…
Thanks again
The Museum of British Surfing (in store only)
Rise Music Shop (in store only)
The Bay Surf Shop (in store only)
Next Stop Australia…
Our second international screening is now confirmed. On Wednesday 2nd January, The Endless Winter will be shown on opening night of the 2013 Surfworld International Surf Film Festival in Australia!
The festival will take place at the world famous Surfworld Museum in Torquay, Victoria – it’s the largest Surf Film Festival in Australia. For a British film to screen on opening night is pretty unusual but we’re confident the Aussie’s will enjoy a slice of pommie surf culture…
“England [Britain] has some great waves and a thriving surf culture. We are stoked to announce that we will be showing the award winning surf documentary THE ENDLESS WINTER as part of the 2013 Surfworld International Surf Film Festival. This amazing documentary looks at the long and very rich history of surfing in England. A must see at the festival!” - John Foss, Festival Director.
Let us know what you think Australia.
Merry Christmas from everyone at The Endless Winter
Thanks so much to everyone that’s played their part in making and supporting The Endless Winter this year. It’s been an unforgettable year for us and we’re so excited that so many people have enjoyed the film on TV, at the cinema and on DVD.
If DVD sales are anything to go by, Mitch and Mark will be appearing in stockings and under trees all over the UK tomorrow. Lucky, lucky you!!
Have a great Christmas everyone, thanks again for all your support. Here’s a little reminder of what British surfing is all about…
Cheers
Matt, James, Mitch, Mark and the crew.