The window for the Titans of Mavericks big wave surf contest isn’t scheduled to open until November, but the rumblings of the massive Princeton-by-the-Sea reef break’s waves will shake the Rio Theatre this weekend.
Two films focused on previous Maverick’s champions will open the Santa Cruz Surf Film Festival on Friday. The festival runs through Sunday at the Rio.
“Ocean Driven”, the story of 2010 champion Chris Bertish of South Africa, headlines the night. Directed and produced by Nadia Tarlow out of her Bonny Doon studio, the 55-minute film follows Bertish’s practically unfathomable odyssey to bring his goal of winning the Maverick’s contest to fruition.
Before he was even a blip on the big wave surfing scene, Bertish determined he wanted to be one of 24 surfers invited to the contest, win it and make a film about the experience. Overcoming long odds, shallow pockets, knee injuries and rogue waves, he made good on all three.
“When Chris gets something in his head, he’s just bullish,” said Conn, one of Bertish’s two brothers. “He’s like, ‘I’m going to do that.’”
Bertish’s story is illustrated by film footage dating from his teen years all the way to his winning ride — and the near deadly one a few heats before it, in what are considered to be some of the biggest waves ever for a surf contest.
Tarlow said it took more than a year to view, sort through and select snippets from the trove of video Bertish had collected. An early version of “Ocean Driven” screened at Pono Hawaiian Grill in 2013, shortly before Red Bull and The National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa took an interest in the film. It will also be shown in Portugal, London and San Diego, among other locations.
Since his win, Bertish has kept busy giving motivational speeches and training for his next epic adventure: becoming the first to stand-up paddleboard across the Atlantic Ocean. He estimates the journey, scheduled to begin in November 2016, will take at least four months at 26 miles a day.
Tarlow said that may be the sequel to “Ocean Driven.”
“When he does paddle,” she said, “our intention is to follow his journey.”
Maverick’s founder Jeff Clark, who put Bertish on the list of Maverick’s candidates years before he was selected for the contest, will be on hand for a Q-and-A session after the film. Next month, Bertish and Clark will both host a screening at the Morrison Planetarium in the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
Another Maverick’s surfer, Anthony Tashnick, may also be on hand Friday to view the short film about him, “Brainwork: Anthony Tashnick”. The film, produced and directed by Santa Cruz filmmaker Kyle Buthman, explores the fun-loving and kid-like side of the Santa Cruz big wave charger who, fittingly, is the youngest to have won Maverick’s. He claimed the title as a 19-year-old in 2005.
Tashnick may be best encapsulated by a line he utters in the film while hanging upside down: “People ask me, ‘Why do I do this? Why do I do that?’ I don’t know, that’s why I’m doing it.”
The Santa Cruz Surf Film Festival runs through Sunday. For ticket information, visit: santacruzsurffilmfest.com
Contact Julie Jag at 831-706-3257.
