A festival that honours the free flow spirit of the 70s as well as Spain’s surfing pioneers. We got lots of peace, free love, vintage boards (plenty of original single and twin fins shaped in the 70s) and some very good and powerful waves on Sunday. Once again Saturday night was epic with, among other bands, the best cover band of The Doors I’ve ever seen: The Other Doors. Do not miss them if they play somewhere near you.

All the photos HERE.

And now we are just trying to recover from all this craziness. We’ve got a month to get rest our limbs, heal our sores and get plenty of energy for the biggest festival of the summer: the 9th Vans Salinas Longboard Festival. After last year’s success (almost 400 registered longboarders + their partners/friends/siblings/offspring/parents/dogs, etc…) this year the organization has extended the festival to four full days (July 29th – August 1st) and added a ton of extra stuff to do. Chris del Moro and Kassia Meador –among others- have already confirmed their presence as no one wants to miss Europe’s biggest longboarding event of the year. Will you?

Phew… what a crazy month! Last time I had

It’s old news to most of you by now, but in case you wonder Sea of Darkness took home the 6.000€ for the best feature film of the year while Birthright took home the 1500€ for best short film of the year. You’ve got all the winners for the different prizes here. Looking back over the Festibal the things that definitely stand out are:

The 180º South European premiere (see here).

The Skeleton Sea Project exhibition at the Aquarium (where it will remain until September) that was a big hit among the non-surfing media.

The Castles in the Sky (euro premiere) and Idiosyncrasies (world premiere), both sold out and with both Taylor Steele and Patrick Trefz presenting them.

The visit of one very bald and tanned Kelli Styler in a white limo and his board conveniently glued to his side so he could greet his fans with both hands.

The two crazy nights of the Amstel Surfilm FestiBaila that pretty much emptied the line-up first thing the next day.

The beautiful boards on display -and ready to be tried out by anyone- on the beach during the weekend: a Skip Frye fish, a Josh Hall fish (with Josh in person explaining the intricacies of the board), an original Terry Fitzgerald shaped Hot Buttered Drifta, etc…

All the photos HERE.

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On Thurday June 3, and after the official press conference with Chris Malloy (who is presenting 180º South in Europe during the AMSTEL Surfilm Festibal), things started off with the Spanish premiere of the 3D documentary The Ultimate Wave Tahiti. Although the screenings didn’t take place at the normal venue (Teatro Principal) that didn’t deter the crowd from attending; several hours before the start there weren’t any tickets left .

The following day (Friday 4) saw the opening of the Idiosyncrasies photo exhibition, with Patrick Trefz, at the NoColor art gallery. Idiosyncrasies is also the name of Patrick’s new surf film, and it will be premiered on Friday June 11 at 21:00 at the Teatro Principal.

By 21:30 people were slowly congregating towards the back of the iconic Kursaal building near the Zurriola beach. As the sun was setting the local band from Zarautz Buffalo Band were releasing jazzy tunes and everyone was chilling out and getting ready for a big night. Soon after Jeff Johnson and Chris Malloy (main character and director) jumped on the stage to present the much awaited 180º South. A crowd of around 1000 people watched the movie in complete silence – apparently the biggest crowd the movie has had so far- soaking thebeauty of the images and the important messages. After that it was time to party with the screening of Point Break while Elena y su conjunto played the original soundtrack life, life performances at different moments of the film and a huge party at the nearby Bar Ondarra.

Now it’s time to rest and get ready as the Amstel Surfilm Festibal is back on Wednesday 9 with the premiere of The Cove, the Skeleton Sea art exhibition opening and plenty more. Check all the program HERE.

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All photos by Roke. Check them all HERE.

What? First time ever a movie is screened using the most advanced 3D analog technology, with live bands and plenty of other performances.

Where? Behind the Kursaal, right by Zurriola beach, in Donostia – San Sebastián (Basque Country – Spain).

When? Friday June 4 at 23h15, right after the European premiere of 180º South.

Who? Organized by the Amstel Surfilm Festibal, of course…

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P.S.: über cool dudes wearing skinny pants, wool beanies and xwide neck tees also admitted… this time!

Enjoy!

Niegà

Patrick Trefz

Patrick has his own particular vision of the surfing world through the unique characters he portrays. While some are more famous than others, they all have in common that they shine in obscurity far from the mainstream surf media limelight. But that is no obstacle and their stories have a profound impact on us all nevertheless.

Harbour Bill. Photo by Patrick Trefz

Andrew Kidman. Photo by Patrick Trefz

Lance Glassing. Photo by Patrick Trefz

Josh Mulcoy. Photo by Patrick Trefz

Tom Curren. Photo by Patrick Trefz

Idiosyncrasies a photo exhibition by Patrick Trefz. June 4 – July 4 at Galería NoColor, Donostia – San Sebastián.

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From May 7 to 17 at the Halle d’Iraty in Biarritz. 2500 square meters with some very interesting surf art pieces for sale. All the info HERE and HERE.

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This year the FestiBaila is taking us to the world of smoky Jamaican beats, ragga and dancehall with promises of all sorts of mischief until the wee hours of the morning. Do not fear as what happens at the FestiBaila stays at the FestiBaila. Here’s the lineup:

Friday 11 June Boom Shaka Laka Gaua

21:00 Boom Shaka Laka Live: RAPSUSKLEI

23:00 LONE ARK

1:00 NOVATO

2:15 BOOM SHAKA LAKA MAKALA GAZTEA FESTA

Saturday 12 June
10:30 NUDO ZURDO

12:00 SAN LEON

1:30 WE ARE STANDARD

3:00 DJ GRAHAM

Where: Gasteszena, Calle Baztan, 21, Donostia.

How much:
Friday 11 Rapsus Clay live: 12€. Until 22h30. From 22h30 onwards 6€.
Saturday 12: 15€ for the whole night.

Tickets will be sold at the usual places: Servikutxa, Donosti Kultura, etc…

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First of all, and thanks to Patagonia, we will be screening the European première of the much-acclaimed documentary 180º South directed by Chris Malloy. It tells the journey of Californian surfer, climber, photographer and writer Jeff Johnson from California to the Chilean Patagonia in his quest to climb Pico Corcovado. The yacht that takes him from México to Chile runs into some problems in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and has to stay put on Easter Island before resuming the trip South. Although it is not strictly a surf film the quality of the images, the editing and the strong environmental message makes it a sure choice to watch while chilling down right outside the Kursaal, and a stone’s throw of the waves of la Zurriola. Make sure to attend: Friday 4 June at 21.30.

The movie will be preceded by the cool tunes of Buffalo, a local band from nearby Zarautz. Make sure to check them out!

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There is a very thin line between spectator and contestant… if there is a line at all. Anyone can enter and have fun …and that’s much more interesting than watching some very talented surfers surf by themselves from one of the sponsor’s tents. The last addition to these events is the Onda Longa Longboard Festival.

After a long waiting period (1 month), it took place on March the 27th, the second to last day of the waiting period. The reason: because it breaks deep inside one of these fjord-like Rías that dot the Galician coastline, Monte Pedrido needs a combination of huge swells, spring tides …and on a weekend. Luckily even during one of the worst winters in recent history in terms of waves, Galiza is never short of huge swells and, after some close calls, the event could take place right before the end of the waiting period. The wave itself isn’t high performance friendly at all, even for logs. It is the closest version of a cold water Waikiki you can find around here: very soft, hardly much a wall and reforming endlessly; hence the name of the event: onda longa (Galician for “long wave”). And so the format of the event was quite simple: everyone surfed together wearing a distinct shirt -or tee-shirt- that helped identify the rider and the winners were sorted out later after a nice dinner.

Check the Onda Longa 2010 video clip from suso ben.

And check all the action and photos HERE .

Niegà