Page 54 - DIFF PROGRAMME 2024

2024 WAVESCAPE FILMS
CORNERS OF THE EARTH
Spencer Frost, Guy Williment, Australia, Russia, 2023, 89 min, English
20 JULY 12:00 SUNCOAST 8 23 JULY 17:00 GATEWAY 8
Just as Russia invades Ukraine, surfers Letty Mortensen and Fraser Dovell are halfway on a long-planned surf trip to the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east of Russia to find waves. Despite calls to abort their flight to Moscow, they go ahead. At a time when the world sees the worst of human nature, they fly behind the Iron Curtain and find, to their surprise, the best of it. Mi-8 helicopters, skidoos, frozen campsites, and frozen bank accounts, this trip quickly becomes far more than anyone can imagine in a frozen land peppered with active volcanoes as remote as it is unique.
This compelling documentary with an original score composed by Academy Award-Winning composer Stephen Warbeck, follows two Australian surfers who leave the suffocating confines of conservative Australia in the 1970s to search for a mystical metaphoric island. Through a unique blend of unseen Super 8 archives, contemporary interviews and beautiful animation, they find it on Nias Island, Indonesia, a vast 5,600 square kilometre island off Sumatra. They find the perfect cylinders of Lagundri Bay, but something sinister lurks in the jungle, a legacy of a bygone age of megalithic stone age culture, where head-hunting was practised well into the 20th century.
This documentary honours Spider Murphy, the pioneering surfboard shaper from Durban who, over six decades, has been pivotal in the evolution of surfing. Spider has expertly crafted more than 100,000 surfboards for everyone: casual weekend enthusiasts, multiple world champions and global tour contenders. At 76, he still exudes an unparalleled passion for surfing and surfboard innovation. A heart attack enabled him to find a renewed perspective that complements a humble and positive outlook. His resilient spirit and sense of stoke are a source of inspiration for many, and he is often referred to as one of the oldest grommets in the world.
POINT OF CHANGE
Rebecca Coley, Indonesia, Australia, 2023, 91 min, English, Indonesian with English subtitles
20 JULY 12:00 GATEWAY 9 23 JULY 17:00 SUNCOAST 8
SPIDER WEB
Timothy Hay, South Africa, 2024, 14 min, English
21 JULY 12:15 GATEWAY 9 25 JULY 17:30 SUNCOAST 8
52 45TH DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL