I’m not a surfer but I loved watching Highwater, and I’ve loved watching all the other surf documentaries you and your dad have made. What is it about surfing that’s so appealing to audiences? Why do you think your movies have been so successful when, really, surfing is not a mass market sport?
Surfing is more than a sport. It’s nature. Something much bigger than us. And it’s that relationship I think that speaks on a much more basic level than just people participating in a sport. I think all can relate. That said, it’s always been something of a mystery to me.
There’s something about the surf culture that is so joyous, and that comes across very naturally in your films. People make fun of the whole laid-back kind of “dude” aspect but it’s hard to argue with the obvious passion these surfers feel. They’re so happy, and it’s infectious! What creates that vibe? Nature? You don’t see that happiness in football players, no matter how much they love the sport, and you certainly wouldn’t hear them wax poetic about how much fun they had even though they came in last place, as one surfer in Highwater does!
Again, it is nature. And, in surfing, there is a lot of waiting. Waiting to get to the beach. Waiting for the surf to come up. Waiting to catch a wave. So, having fun during all that waiting is important. Also, you don’t win or conquer or beat. You ride. You make the wave. The wave is the star. The rider is a lucky extra. So it’s a much different mentality than many sports. But, again, I am just guessing here.
Highwater focuses on the Vans Triple Crown, which is known as “The Greatest Show on Surf.” As the Mt. Everest of surfing events, it makes sense that you would want to cover this, but is there anything you specifically wanted to explore or show? Any particular message you wanted to send?
What’s the old saying — if you want to send a message, use Western Union. I am just trying to tell the best story I can. And if the audience gets something out of it, that is the magic of film, I think. Corny, but I believe it. That said, I did want to show the contest aspect of surfing — the “making a living from surfing” side of it.
The photography in Highwater – and all your films, for that matter – is breathtaking, and seems as impossible as the actual surfing of some of those waves. How do you capture those shots?
Hire the best cameramen possible and use what you’ve learned in the past. It’s a very visual activity and I do my best to convey that with different camera angles and perspectives.
What was the most difficult part of making Highwater?
I really enjoy making films so none of it was particularly difficult –although dealing with Malik’s death was very tough on a personal level.
The death of Malik Joyeux is a devastating moment in the film, but it’s followed by one of the most uplifting and beautiful as you show the surfing community come together to honor one of their own. You had interviewed Malik in Step Into Liquid, so I can’t even imagine how it must have felt to be there, filming, when this happened. Can you share your personal feelings about that time?
It is very difficult to put into words. He was a wonderful guy. And it was so sad. I can’t really do him or my feelings justice with words. Suffice it to say he is missed.
There are a lot of characters in surfing, as I guess there are in any group. Eric Hass has to be one of the most fascinating, and represents, to me, the purity of the sport. What did he represent to you and why were you so determined to find him?
I was just curious whether there was still a surfer not know to the public but a legend to other surfers. Someone still flying below the radar. The kind of mythic hero you’d hear about in the sport decades ago, if that still existed — and there he was! Eric is a movie unto himself and I am just proud we were able to be with him a bit.
I love when you talk about “a growing number of surfers wearing two-piece bathing suits.” How have women impacted the sport and do you think you’ll ever do a documentary focusing solely on them? Bethany Hamilton is such an inspiration, and probably deserves a film to herself!
Bethany deserves many films about her. She is the most amazing surfer I have ever met. Period. Women’s impact on the sport has been the single greatest positive change in surfing in the last 25 years and I would love to do a film focused solely on them. I am a big fan.
What was the most surprising thing you learned about the competition, the competitors, surfing or yourself while filming Highwater?
How very tightknit and close the surfing community still is. Despite all the growth and commercialism, it’s still a very tight group.
What’s next? And will there be a third generation of Brown surfing filmmakers?
Still figuring out what’s next. And my son, Wes, is making films. He helped produce and co-edited Highwater and worked on Step into Liquid and Dust to Glory with me. So there is already a third generation.
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