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Sorria

Serving up an all star cast of Brazil’s hottest talents from Filipe Toledo to Caio Ibelli, Sorria from Director Gabriel Novis, takes performance surfing to the next level. Combining incredible cinematography, killer sound track and dream like waves in Mexico, Indo, California and Hawaii, this is the performance film of 2016 that everyone is talking about. We caught up with Gabriel to find out what all the fuss is about.

London Surf Film Festival hosts the European Premiere of Sorria Thursday 22nd September. For tickets and info, hit the link: http://londonsurffilmfestival.com/sorria/

What is the concept behind ‘Sorria’ ?
Sorria means smile in Portuguese and the movie is a crazy attempt to inspire people and let them know that they should always smile no matter what and enjoy life because everything happens really fast. So don’t take yourself so seriously…kinda cheesy, but whatever! I wrote some stuff in the film with Cornelia Grimsmo [Norwegian model/actress] and we tried to explain that idea of smiling in a different way.

Were there specific people you wanted to work with?
I picked surfers that I thought would be a good fit for the project. They had to match the film’s vibe and be available and down to shoot. I chose guys that have the ”sorria” spirit and that are good friends with me.

I wanted to represent a little bit of our culture in this film and that’s why I only picked Brazilian surfers.

I wanted to show that surfing in Brazil isn’t all about competition. That even though a lot of these guys compete, they freesurf as much as anyone else. I also wanted to express how Brazilians think and feel, and kind of explain why we are so noisy and take so much space. It’s because we are happy, and we grow up learning that we should always go through everything showing our teeth. It’s like that in Brazil, it doesn’t matter if you have a lot or if you have nothing, we’ve always gotta keep smiling. That’s the spirit of this project.

Who inspires you?
My dad used to collect surf films so I have watched pretty much everything out there. When I was young my favorite films were the Volcom and the …Lost ones like: 156 Tricks by Ozzie Wright, Creepy Fingers, The Decline and Taylor Steele’s films (Campaign, etc.) Now I’ve been watching a lot of Kai Neville’s stuff but Joe G. is the man. Strange Rumblings in Shangri-la is my favorite surf film right now. Outside of surfing I love all of Wes Anderson’s films, but I am also really interested in watching everything Tim Burton and Alejandro González Iñárritu create. My favorite film of all time, though, is probably Apocalypse Now.

You got to travel a lot for the film…
We did travel to a few secret spots in Indonesia, Mexico, Hawaii and all over California for a period of one year. My favourite trip was to Mexico because, for some reason, all of us (surfers and crew) were so connected. The vibe was awesome and we scored perfect empty waves. I could really feel the vibe of ” sorria ” and get excited about this movie.

How was the filmmaking process – the highs and the lows?
My favourite part was going on the trips and also editing because that’s when you see all the possibilities and what can be done with the material you shot. The pre production wasn’t fun at all because I did and still do struggle with finding money for making my projects come alive ( lol ).The hardest part was finding dates that would match the surfers dates because those guys never stop. We would have to plan for months to finally be able to go on a trip together.

What’s next for Gabriel Novis?
There is a lot going on but I really want to keep the ” sorria ” vibe alive. I think this has such an important message and we cannot stop talking about it. I wanna do ”sorria de novo ” which means: smile again. It would be like the part 2 of the movie but this time we wanna go bigger and better and look for this missing smile in some pretty cool places. Travel to cold destinations and focus on the cinematography… Is there anyone reading this interested on helping me out finding money to get this project together? Haha

London Surf / Film Festival X Reef 22 September – 1 October brings to the UK the best surf films from around the globe. Accompanied by talks with waveriding’s most inspiring heroes and icons, a live audio visual performance, a very special 35mm screening, a gallery show, music, art and more this saline hit of inspiration is an essential cultural happening. For full schedule details and info on a couple of very special LS/FF pop-up screenings head to: www.londonsurffilmfestival.com

Desert dreaming

Huge perfect kegs in the desert with the Mad Hueys

Huge interest in the 24th Jesus Surf Classic

The popularity of the Jesus Surf Classic in Croyde, organised by Christian Surfers UK continues to grow now in its 24th year. With a week to go most of the categories are already full with around 140 competitors registered, which will mean a busy weekend for all the organisers, judges and officials.

The 24th Jesus Surf Classic comes to its North Devon home once again over the weekend of 10th – 11th September, with eight divisions being run, and weather permitting, the mobile skatepark will be back again.

The Jesus Surf Classic is organised and run by Christian Surfers UK and this year there is over £2000 of prize money to be shared between the eight categories, with the Open Men’s surfing champion receiving £300. This year we are increasing the Ladies open winner cheque to the same amount for the first time. Last year’s hugely successful 23rd event, was oversubscribed but was a fantastic weekend both in the water and with the skatepark action and other attractions on land.

As before, over 100 Christian Surfers volunteers from around the country will be involved in organising the weekend, making it ideal for competitors, supporters and, of course, their families. There will be a skate park, marquee and BBQ, and surf and skate movies will be shown on the large TV throughout the weekend. There will be a Big Move skateboard competition on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (weather permitting) at the purpose-built skate park. We are looking forward to seeing lots of skaters coming down to this event once again.

One new innovation for this year will be a variety of individuals and bands playing some acoustic music throughout both days in the contest marquee. We are excited about adding music to the event, and looking forward to listening to the performers.

Competition is always fierce and last year Bude’s Liam Turner took the Open event, with Emily Currie taking victory in the Open Women’s division, along with a cheque for £250 and trophy. It is also, however, a great opportunity for those wishing to enter their first competition in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The hotly contested Groms division (U12) was won by Bude’s Stanley Norman, and the equally competitive Masters (Over 35’s) was won for the second year running by Paul Kirby from Bude.

The Jesus Surf Classic has become one of the biggest and longest running surf contests in the UK, and Christian Surfers UK are once again very much looking forward to hosting it at one of the best beach breaks on the north coast, Croyde Bay.

Currently all the men’s categories are FULL, with some people already on the waiting list, and just a few spaces remaining in the women’s and the under 18 women’s. For any women or girls looking to grab the last few spaces available go to the online booking portal www.christiansurfers.co.uk/register

As before, working closely with Parkdean Holidays, those camping at the Parkdean site will have access to a special 2 1/2-day rate which means contestants and supporters don’t have to move off their pitch early on Sunday morning. Please request this when making a booking for the campsite.

The dates for the ninth Jesus Longboard Classic have also been confirmed and this will take place over the weekend of 15th – 16th October at its traditional venue of Polzeath, using the Tubestation as its contest base.

With great hospitality guaranteed and a great bunch of volunteers, this event continues to grow in popularity, so again ensure you get your entries in once the online portal opens on 12th September. The Jesus Longboard Classic has a well-deserved reputation for its friendly atmosphere and relaxed vibe, as well as the later rounds being highly competitive.

This year, for the first time there will be five categories, sharing over £1000 in prize money: Open, Women’s, Junior (U18) and Masters (over 35) and for the first time a new Grand Masters Over 50s division.

All previous competitors will be sent an entry link, and you will be able to pay online or by cheque.

For more information please contact Phil Williams at [email protected]

Out of Open Ocean – The Pacific North West

Jeremy Rasmussen who is based out of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. There is a slab that he and his tow partner Tony Perez have been surfing for years that comes out of deep ocean and breaks heavily on the reef.

This wave is one of the most dangerous waves in the world that takes precise calculated takeoffs to navigate it safely. Some of the worlds best surfers have tried to surf it and after one attempt have said that they want nothing to do with it. Watch this video to get a glimpse into the thought process of an athlete that is pushing boundaries and taking big wave surfing to a new level.

Pumping Indo!

The World Junior surf champ goes to town in Indo

North Shore Surf Club win Gathering of the Clans

The SSF Gathering of the Clans 2016 (Scottish Inter-club Championships) was hosted by the Tiree Surf Club at Balevulin and Balephuil beaches on the 26-28th of September. Competitors from 5 clans from across Scotland were greeted at the fantastic Blackhouse Watersports beach hut with mild weather and sunshine.

The first rounds of the contest got underway at Balevulin beach in very small but contestable surf – wider and thicker boards than normal were the order of the day for most competitors but despite the challenging conditions the early rounds were completed and some great critical surfing and manoeuvres went down. Standouts from early rounds included Craig Sutherland (MFSR) in the Masters & Open, Andrew Robertson (TSC) in the Open, Ben Larg (TSC) in the junior division and Iona McLachlan (NSSC) in the Womens.

Finals day kicked off on the 27th at Balephuil beach and conditions had deteriorated from the previous day but despite the marginal surf, competitors were hungry and enthusiastic – a fantastic grovel competition ensued! Judges had their work cut out in the knee high conditions but often clear winners would post high scores and competitors proved that contestable surf can be pretty small indeed! Tactics played a part with some opting to use foamies in their finals and others used wide fishes and alternative grovel shapes. The 2016 clans would become one of the most entertaining contests of the year…
Conditions were however very suitable for our junior competitors and indeed the longboard final which turned out to be one of the best heats of the year with a fantastic demonstration of traditional nose-riding as well as sweeping cut backs from category winner Paul Le Roux (TSC). Chris Clarke (NSSC) started poorly in the final but posted two good scores towrds the end of the longboard final securing him 2nd place followed by Donald Peace (MFSR) in 3rd and Jamie Marshall in 4th (EC).

The junior division final was the most hotly anticipated heat of the day and it was stacked with the best groms from across the country. It would be the North Shore Surf Club who would dominate however; Iona McLachlan and Robbie McNicol taking 1st and 2nd place respectively. An unfortunate interference call on Tiree’s Ben Larg (TSC) seen him fall from 1st to 3rd place and the East Coast’s Elliot Young (EC) put on fantastic performances throughout the contest to make the final and finish in 4th place securing important points for his team which was made up of surfers from Dunbar Surf Club and the newly formed Fife Surf Club.

The were no surprises in the Masters Division as an in form Craig Sutherland (MFSR) took out 1st spot followed by Namibian Tiree implant Paul Le Roux (TSC), with Cahal (MFSR) and Marti Larg (TSC) in 3rd and 4th places respectively.

The Womens division was another nail biter with great scores posted by all ladies in the semis and finals. Dee Ripoll would be the eventual category winner. Another junior competitor had great success in the adult division – Iona Turner (EC) who was the Womens runner up, followed by Phoebe Strachan (NSSC) and Jen Wood (NSSC) both of the North Shore Surf Club who secured valuable points for their clan.
The event hosts, Tiree Surf Club also had success in the Open division where current U18 Scottish Champion, 15 year old Finn MacDonald (TSC), posted a 16 point heat total and destroyed his opponents – his lightness allowing him to maintain speed in the tiny conditions and demonstrate critical surfing throwing one of the only fans of spray we had seen all day on a right hander to score him a 9 point ride backed up by a solid end section re-entry on a lefthander just prior to seal the win. A huge achievement for young Finn who defeated 2nd place Mark Boyd (NSSC), 3rd place Jamie Marshall (EC) and 4th place Craig Sutherland (MFSR). It was an interesting heat in which both MacDonald (TSC) and Boyd (NSSC) opted to commence the heat on foamy surfboards and then opt for a mid heat board switch – but it would be MacDonald who would impress the judges post board switch to display the critical surfing the crowd wanted to see whilst the others fought it out for second place. Finn will undoubtedly become one of the future stars of Scottish Surfing and will be representing Scotland at the World Juniors in the Azores next month.
But it would be the Thurso based North Shore Surf Club (NSSC) clan who would take the sword trophy and quaich (if it can be found?!) – the team was made up of: Mark Boyd, Iona McLachlan, Alex Sutherland, Chris Clarke, Craig McLachlan, Connor Wilson, Robbie McNicol, Phoebe Strachan and Jen Wood.

A huge than-you from the Scottish Surfing Federation to the Tiree Surf Club, Marti and Iona Larg & Blackhouse Watersports, head judges Lisa and Jamie & everyone else who judged and helped throughout the weekend Staunch Industries, Far Cabinet makers for the fantastic sword trophy, Tiree Community Trust, Argyll and Bute Council, Argyll Estates, Tiree Pottery and Caledonian MacBrayne.

More photos of the event to follow…

CLAN RESULTS:

1. North Shore Surf Club (NSSC)

2. Tiree Surf Club (TSC)

3. Moray Firth Surf Riders (MFSR)

3=East Coast

5. Tiree 2