Tom Atkin Hall gets transformed into a portal of tubular dimensions when Flotsam Festival’s International Surf Flick Fest hits the screens Friday May 12th to tickle your retinas with visual surfing splendour from all corners.

Flotsam has scoured the planet for films that will whisk you away on a surfing trip around the globe. The results?  A plethora of short and mid length goodness for you to enjoy –  watch one session with a single ticket, or binge the lot for one low ticket price.  (Wayyyy cheaper than an international holiday, and no luggage or hefty boardbags to pack or get destroyed by baggage handlers).

Yama by Lucy Small and Maddie Meddings  (Ghana)

Yama by British filmmaker Maddie Meddings follows Australian surfer and activist Lucy Small as she travels to Ghana to meet with a group of pioneering female surfers and skaters. Once a stronghold of the transatlantic slave trade and with a history of Atlantic aquatic surf culture that precedes colonial invasion, this is a story of a reclamation and joy. Aiming to tell a story that challenges the representations that many African nations are commonly subjected to in western media, Yama begins in the bustling city of Accra and travels to the wave rich coastline where there are communities driving the budding Ghanaian modern surf scene.The Fantes are the people who populate the area where female surfers live. Yama is their name for the wooden boats that still cross Ghana’s shoreline today.

Runtime: 23:38

Featuring: Sandy Alibo, Justice Kwofie, Eden Oyeoku, Harmonie Bataka, Lucy Small

Credits: Maddie Meddings, Filmer, Editor, Co-Writer, Co-Director. Lucy Small, Producer, Co-Writer, Co-Director Director

Hail Mary (USA)

Hail Mary is the fusion of a documentary biopic and a traditional surf film. At his home in Long Beach, New York, we learn about the life of professional surfer, Balaram Stack. Childhood photos and home videos illustrate the beautiful relationship of Balaram and his mother, Mary, who was an invaluable force in helping Balaram go from a small-town surfer on New York’s Long Island, to the world champion he is today. Mary’s commitment to her son and his passion for the water is endless and her ability to stand by him without pressuring him to choose a different path is nothing short of inspiring.Woven throughout the heritage surf footage and interviews, are incredible surf sequences from around the world. Years of footage make up the stunning shots of some of Balaram’s best waves at Pipeline, Teahupoo, and returning to New York to surf hurricane swell at his homebreak.

Featuring: Balaram Stack, Mary Stack

Credits: Ben Gulliver, Director. Natalie Gulliver, Executive Producer.

Tidal Phenomenon Explained (Indonesia)

Join Dylan Graves as he embarks on an epic surfing adventure to Indonesia’s tidal bore known as the Bono, as he unpacks all the details of this very rare phenomenon that has captured water sports enthusiasts from around the world. In this video, you’ll witness breathtaking footage of Dylans journey through the Bono, as he shares his personal challenges and triumphs with you as he learns more about their natural wonder of the world. Come along for the ride and experience the magic of the Bono tidal bore through one of the worlds most passionate surfers.

Runtime: TBC

Credits: Dylan Graves

Springtide – A Burmese Tale (Myanmar)

From the machinery of a wood workshop in Yangon to the breaking swell of the Bay of Bengal, Springtide depicts the birth of wave riding in Myanmar.

Runtime: 7:47

Credits: Léopold Belanger, Director César de Lorme, DOP

RAW – The Sound of Teahupo’o  (Tahiti)

Filmed in the heart of the jungle of French Polynesia, and close to the most beautiful wave in the world, famous photographer and filmmaker Tim McKenna has followed the surfing locals Gilbert Teave and Tahurai Henry during one special day.

More than a classic video of Tahiti’s iconic wave, the short film RAW – The Sound of Teahupo’o is a pure aesthetic and sound travel.

Runtime: 3:40

Featuring: Gilbert Teave, Tahurai Henry

Credits: Tim McKenna, DOP and Director

Bagus Lagi   (Indonesia)

Bagus Lagi means good again in the Indonesian language. No better expression to describe the trip of the Portuguese free surfer Pedro Booman, a deep admirer of Indonesia and its infinite perfect barrels. After 3 years of impediments and restrictions during the pandemic, Pedro had the opportunity to finally return to Indonesia and stay for more than 60 days in one of the best resorts in northern Mentawais, located right in the middle of the region’s more than 20 perfect waves. Pedro has found many lonely tubes, and others with few lucky surfers such as João and Kailani Jabour, Sam Pitter, Max Minchalewski and even Kelly Slater’s phenomenon in the largest Nokandui of the year. An adventure complete with amazing surf days, but also with challenges and tension.

Runtime: 25:00

Featuring: Pedro Booman

Credits: Alexandre Ribas, Writer, Producer, Director

A New Wave (South Africa)

In love with the ocean, elite surfer Michael February and his father reflect on what it means to represent South Africa on the world stage.

Runtime: 17:00

Featuring: Michael February, Isaac February

Credits: Sandra Winther, Director. William Crouse, Producer

Bigger Than Me (Hawaii/USA)

Wrenna is a young woman with a fearless dream – a 6’ 2” natural with a body built for the ocean, she wants to be a big wave surfer. But she finds the discipline and sacrifice required to be a professional, extremely challenging. Growing up in New Jersey with hippy parents, her teenage years were spent caring for her younger siblings and schooling herself in the local library. At 19, Wrenna makes her pilgrimage to Hawaii’s North Shore risking it all on big waves. She is confronted by the pressures of carving out a professional sporting life as a woman and without a sponsor she works two jobs to support her dream. Filming over ten years, from Oahu’s iconic big wave, Waimea Bay to the cold waters of Mavericks to the ultimate big wave of Peahi (Jaws), we travel with Wrenna through the seasons, the highs and the lows of facing your fears – to find out how much bigger you can be.

Runtime: 23:00

Credits: Claire Gorman, Director

Coral Castle (Germany)

A narrative piece about surfing and the power of water based on the luminous poem Breathing Under Water by Carol Bieleck.

Runtime: 3:03

Credits: Johannes Paul Olszewski

Bloody Knuckles (France)

By sweeping away the fool ambition to produce some ultimate and universal surfboard dreamed by every surfer on earth, Perfect Designs shapes boards that belong to the kinky realms of their nightmarish imagination. And by pluralising the concept in their name, Perfect Designs purposely shifts towards even more incongruity: if it’s perfect, then there’s no need for more than one, right? Design exists because each design is a failure. There lies the genius in Perfect Designs: they carefully craft perfect failures.

Runtime: 6:50

Credits: Léo Chadoutaud, Sebastien Abes and Alex Heitler