Media release Surfworld International Film Festival
Australian surf documentary Storm Surfers has won the Peter Troy ‘Spirit’ Award at the 2013 Surfworld International Surf Film Festival. The festival is held each year in January at the Surfworld Museum, Torquay. This year it attracted record crowds to view four Australian Premieres and four Surf Coast Premieres. Films from Australia, Spain, Japan, England, Finland, South Africa and the USA were in competition for the major awards, including the ‘Spirit’ Award.
Peter Troy was an Australian surfer who travelled to over 140 countries during the sixties and seventies searching for the perfect wave. Thus, the ‘Spirit’ Award is awarded to the film that best encapsulates the adventure of surfing.
Storm Surfers, directed by Chris Nelius and Justin McMillan, features former world surfing champion Tom Carroll and Torquay big wave rider Ross Clarke-Jones with narration by Toni Collette. The two friends embark on an expedition to find and ride a mythical wave that is said to lie off of a secret reef. The film is currently showing at selected cinemas in 3D.
Producer Ellena Cox says, “We are incredibly proud to have received this award and for recognition of the incredible team effort that went into making Storm Surfers 3D. It’s a great honour to be involved in such a film which we hope will go down in history as one of Australia’s surfing classics!”
The official film festival award winners were:
BEST SURF FILM (Audience Award)
SURFING AND SHARKS (South Africa) Director: Julian Watson
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Jury Award)
UNDER THE SUN (USA) Director: Cyrus Sutton
PETER TROY ‘SPIRIT’ AWARD (Jury Award)
STORM SURFERS (Australia) Directors: Chris Nelius / Justin McMillan
BEST SHORT SURF FILM (Jury Award)
SAND, PAPER, STONE (Spain) Director: Gabriel Garcia Magrina