It’s a little bit chilly out there as we step into December, isn’t it? For those dreaming of sand and surf rather than snow and…sludge, the Irish Film Institute will be hosting a trio of documentaries this weekend about surfing, in Ireland and abroad. They’ll be looking at the Mavericks who live among the waves in these interesting docs, including previous successes screened at the IFI this year as well as a new Irish premiere.
This short season of surf-docs will begin on December 2nd and contains the Irish premiere of Rory Kennedy’s Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton. The documentary charts Hamilton’s unconventional career, from his early days in Hawaii where surfing became a refuge from an abusive home to international recognition and celebrity.
Following a triumphant screening at the Dublin Arabic Film Festival earlier this year, Gaza Surf Club will once again return to the big screen. The resilience of Gaza’s population is revealed through this documentary, which focuses on the world of 15-year-old Sabah, who learned the sport as a girl but is now no longer allowed to practice in public.
On Sunday 3rd, director Ross Whitaker will participate in a Q&A following an encore screening of Between Land and Sea at 4pm. This observational feature, one of the biggest Irish films at the IFI this year, finds itself in a community of surfers in Lahinch, Co. Clare, over the course of a sea-buffeted year and features stunning seascapes and mind-blowing surfing, going beyond the usual bluster of the typical adrenaline-fuelled surf film in an immersive portrait of a people and a place.
Tickets for these films are available from the IFI now.