Surfing Film Festival Kicks Off Tonight

Half Moon Bay is known as a great surfing spot, so why not have it host the First Annual Big Wave Surfing Film Festival?

The surge of Hang-Ten cinema kicks off Wednesday at the Oceano Hotel in Princeton Harbor.

A surfing legend will be on the red carpet opening night. Greg "The Bull" Noll will show his film "Search for Surf," which chronicles his wave-riding prowess along our coast and in Hawaii.

The festival is not only about film: There will also be photographs and surfboards on display at the hotel.
 
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at NorCal Surfshop in Pacifica (5460 Coast Hwy, Pedro Point, Pacifica, 650-738-9283) and the shops at Harbor Village (280 Capistrano Rd, Princeton-by-the-Sea, Half Moon Bay).

Here's the schedule from the Mavericks Web site:

Wednesday, June 17, at The Oceano Hotel Grand Ballroom:

7 p.m. - Greg Noll’s "Search for Surf," with Noll a featured speaker, highlighting the early days of big-wave riding at Waimea Bay, Pipeline, Sunset Beach and Makaha.

8:30 p.m. - "The Perfect 10" - the story of Big Wave Africa 2008, the shocking event held at Dungeons last July which prompted Surfing Magazine's Evan Slater to state "this is possibly the biggest paddle-in surf ever photographed”. Highlights include Mavericks Champions Tazzy, Flea, Greg Long and Twiggy Baker, as well as regulars Matt Ambrose, Grant Washburn and Tyler Smith challenging the South Atlantic beast. Throw them in with international icons like Carlos Burle, Paul Patterson, Jamie Sterling, Ross Clark Jones and Mark Healey, add South Africa's best surfers and most treacherous waves. Produced by Red Bull South Africa and Fixer Films. Directed by Neil Webster and assisted by Grant Washurn.

Thursday, June 18, Harbor Villages Atrium, Princeton:

7:00 p.m. - "Whipped" by Powerlines Productions, documenting Flea Virostko, Peter Mel, Grant Washburn, Jeff Clark and many others during the epic 2000-01 winter season at Mavericks, as well as footage from Cortes Bank.

8:30 p.m.- "Ride On" - the latest film from Powerlines, featuring the November 2008 swell described as one of the best ever at Mavericks. Powerlines Productions' owners Eric Nelson and Curt Myers have dedicated themselves to documenting the history of surf in the Half Moon Bay area for the past several decades.

Friday, June 19, Harbor Villages Atrium:

7:00 p.m. - "Year of the Drag-In" - a film produced by Eric Nelson, Curt Myers and Frank Quirarte, featuring the Mavericks crew and a cast of international stars as they took the tow-in revolution to new limits in waves up to 70 feet on the face.

8:30 p.m. - "Mavericks, the Documentary" - a film produced and narrated by Grant Washburn, written with Bruce Jenkins, chronicling the story behind what has become the legend of Mavericks.

Saturday, June 20, Harbor Villages Atrium:

7:00 p.m. - "Finding Aloha" - by Hawaii-based surfer Dan Moore, a tribute to Hawaiian spirit, adventurous souls and the giant waves of Peahi (also known as "Jaws") on the north shore of Maui.

8:30 p.m. - "One Winter Story" by Frank Films. The accomplished filmmakers Sally Lundburg and Elizabeth Pepin study the inspiring life of Santa Cruz surfer Sarah Gerhardt, the first woman to ride Mavericks.

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