Our Picks: The London Surf Film Festival

It’s that time of year again when film makers from up and down the country drop their entires to the London Surf Film Festival shorties division and you, the humble armchair pundit, is tasked with picking the films that should make it onto the short list.

This year there are 20 entries, amounting to a total of 100 minutes and we’ve watched them all to bring you our favourite 5. So here they are in no particular order with a little bit about what we dug about each of them:

OFFLINE

Surfer: Alan Stokes. Film and Edit: MR B

Whilst you’d be forgiven for feeling a little tired of the ‘get off your phone and into the real world maaaan’ narrative that has become so ubiquitous, ironically enough, in online clips, the surfing in this clip is razor sharp and, like anything produced by MR B, the production and cinematography is a feast for the eyes. Filmed on some pretty perfect looking days around home, this one succeeds in getting us stoked to go surfing and for us thats way more important than providing some sort of social commentary about the digital age.

All About Harry

Surfer: Harry Timson. Film and edit: Vince Timson and Gudi Ferrer

This is probably the most high performance edit on the list and whilst you may already have seen it, don’t let the fact that it’s not brand spanking new put you off voting for it, as the both the surfing and production are second to none.

The Sun Also Rises

Surfer: Matt Smith. Edit: Chric Mcclean

With narration from Burgs- a spiritual teacher, this clip features a lesson in mindfulness and appreciation for the world around, set to some excellent visuals featuring Matt Smith surfing around the British Isles and beyond. Whilst it follows what has become a fairly conventional format for LSFF submissions, the super tight editing and production from Chris Mcclean ensures that this one stands out from the crowd.

Generic

Surfer: Angus Scotney Dir: Josie Pearce.

This is probably the stupidest and funniest web clip we’ve seen in a long time and is without a doubt one of our favourites from the list. We’ve got to applaud Angus for shunning virtually all conventions associated with pro-surfer web clips, instead just opting to make a vid of himself pissing about and going surfing. Don’t get us wrong though- the silliness is by no means an over-compensation for a lack of quality in the surf clips- as it in fact feature some of the most high performance stuff we’ve seen from his age category. We’d love to see this win so Angus could put it on his mantle piece along with his lankiest teenager in Cornwall award.

Party at Yours

Surfers: Loads- full list here! Flim and edit: Jimmy Pinfield.

In a similar vein this clip, featuring Ben Skinner and friends enjoying some party waves at home, is a real celebration of the art of having fun and not taking yourself too seriously. There’s plenty of clips that focus on drive, passion, athleticism and perseverance in our sport, so sometimes its nice to see one where the central concept is just fun and running each other over.

To cast you vote or watch the rest of the clips on the long list head over to the London Surf Film Fest website: www.londonsurffilmfestival.com/category/shorts/shorties-2015/