You Should Have Been Here Yesterday (2024)

The Endless Summer

Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

The Westsiders

The rise and fall of The Westsiders surf gang through the eyes of three best friends.

Heartbreakers Beach Party

Documentary that captures Tom Petty and the band in 1982-1983 as they finish, promote, and tour around the “Long After Dark” album (their final with legendary producer Jimmy Iovine). It aired only once on MTV in 1983. After the long lost 16mm reels were finally found, a restored version with 19 minutes of extra footage was released in 2024.

Self Discovery for Social Survival

Self Discovery for Social Survival is a collaborative surf and music film produced by Brooklyn based record label, Mexican Summer and Pilgrim Surf + Supply, a New York based surf and outdoor brand. Filmed in Mexico, the Maldives and Iceland in three separate vignettes, musicians (Allah Las, Connan Mockasin, Andrew Van Wyngarden of MGMT, and Peaking Lights) alongside pro-surfers,embark on a journey that combines a symbiotic relationship between music and the waves, the environment, and local culture. Poetically narrated by the legendary avant-garde film maker Jonas Mekas.

Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton

This is the remarkable story of an American icon who changed the sport of big wave surfing forever. Transcending the surf genre, this in-depth portrait of a hard-charging athlete explores the fear, courage and ambition that push a man to greatness—and the cost that comes with it.

Riding Giants

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

Step Into Liquid

No special effects. No stuntmen. No stereotypes. No other feeling comes close. Surfers and secret spots from around the world are profiled in this documentary.

The Endless Summer II

Bruce Brown, king of surfing documentaries, returns after nearly thirty years to trace the steps of two young surfers to top surfing spots around the world. Along the way we see many of the people and locales Bruce visited during the filming of Endless Summer (1966).

Peninsula

This documentary explores the tranquil history of Italian surfing along with the passion and dedication of the pioneers who shaped it.

Maya and the Wave

After a brush with death, Maya Gabeira makes history in the male-dominated world of big wave surfing.

Morning of the Earth

In the early ‘70s, founding member of Australian surf magazine Tracks, Albert Falzon, began filming off the North Coast of New South Wales, Hawaii, and Indonesia. He set out to make a film “that was a reflection of the spirit of surfing at the time” and the end result, Morning of the Earth, proved its worth as a vital document of surf culture and a powerful nature film.

Onde Nostre

Onde Nostre is a lifestyle documentary film that shows the peculiarity of the Italian surf scene and the beauty of this sport, even in a country that's not usually considered a top destination for catching waves. With this film we intend show the passion and high level of the Italian surfers. The film is shot mainly in 16mm and super 8 and only a small part is shot digital in order to emphasize the beauty of the landscape. The film has a romantic approach to surfing. Action has a great relevance, with slow motion segments and an emotional editing. Onde Nostre also shows Italian surfers lifestyles and the endless search for good waves in the Mediterranean sea.

Gravity

An electric compilation of footage cut to an explosive soundtrack, Gravity is a high action surf film from John John Florence that highlights the historic 2021/2022 winter on the North Shore of O'ahu.

The Longest Wave

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger travels the globe with legendary windsurfer and pioneering waterman Robby Naish, a 24-time world champion whose quest to master the world's longest waves unexpectedly reveals his vulnerabilities as a competitor, mentor and father. THE LONGEST WAVE transcends the action sports genre by capturing obstacles outside of the legendary athlete's professional life in an intimate, cinéma-vérité style, revealing Naish balancing the pursuit of excellence at sea with the demands of life's complications on land.

Under an Arctic Sky

Six fearless surfers travel to the north coast of Iceland to ride waves unlike anything they've ever experienced, captured with high-tech cameras.

Thicker Than Water

Chris Malloy, Emmett Malloy, and Jack Johnson got together to document the life and times of a pro surfer. Shot all on 16mm Film "Thicker Than Water" follows Rob Machado, Kelly Slater, Brad Gerlach, Shane Dorian, and others on a 18 month journey through the North Atlantic, South Pacific, and the Bay of Bengal.

Kelly Slater in Black and White

Take an intimate look at six-time world champion Kelly Slater before he became the most well-known name in surfing, and find out what he did to rise to the top and become the most commanding presence in his sport. With footage from France, Fiji, Southern California and Oahu's North Shore, the film treats you to fabulous scenery from some of the best surfing locales in the world. Also features Tom Carrol, Jeff Booth and Tom Curren.

All Aboard the Crazy Train

Winner of the 2005 Maui Film Festival's Best Short Film Documentary, this eye-popping video captures big-wave surfing at its most insane. Made by the folks who brought you Step in Liquid and Riding Giants, the film features tow-in trailblazers Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, Darrick Doerner and others taking on Peahi, Maui's enormous swells during the winters of '04 and '05. Fueling the action is a hot soundtrack courtesy of Pearl Jam, U2 and Beck.

Bustin' Down the Door

During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was not ready for revolution. Surfing was never to be the same again.

The Pursuit

A surf movie that reflects the lives of a new generation of surfers. Each athlete has their own story to tell inside the broader story of THE PURSUIT.

Surfing Hollow Days

Filmed before his wildly popular Endless Summer, this Bruce Brown documentary follows famed surfers Robert August, Peter Johnson, Mike Haley, Kemp Aaberg and others as they ride waves in Australia, Mexico, California and Florida. It also goes behind the scenes, offering glimpses of the surfers' personal lives and the culture they inhabit. Watch for the 15-foot shark checking out the line-up at Rincon (in Santa Barbara, Calif.)!

The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D

Featuring ten-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater, The Ultimate Wave follows a quest to find the perfect wave-riding experience. Filmed in Tahiti and among the islands of French Polynesia, the film showcases dramatic giant screen surfing action in a unique Pacific paradise.

Between Land and Sea: A Year in the Life of an Atlantic Surf Town

Against the backdrop of Ireland’s stunning west coast, this film digs deep into the day to day lives of the surf community, taking the audience beyond the bluster of the typical adrenaline fueled film to create a very real portrait of those who choose the surf lifestyle.

Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable

One of the most fearless and accomplished athletes of her generation, Bethany Hamilton became a surfing wunderkind when she returned to the sport following a devastating shark attack at age 13. As she continues to chase waves she also now tackles motherhood.

Andy Irons: Kissed by God

A film about bipolar disorder and opioid addiction as seen through the life of three-time world champion surfer Andy Irons. He was the pride of Hawaii and revered around the world for his blue collar rise to fame and success. However, many were unaware of his internal battles that led to his demise. As the opioid crisis rises to a national emergency in the United States, the untold story of Andy’s life serves to tear down the myths associated with these two ferocious diseases.

Gabriel Medina

The personal and professional evolution of Gabriel Medina, a boy without the traditional surfer stereotype who became one of the biggest names in surfing and world sport.

Two Trees

In the early 1900s commercial loggers cut down an old growth spruce tree growing on a small island surrounded by tide pools on the coast of Maine. Out of the trunk of this ancient tree grew two new trees, side by side.

View from a Blue Moon

From the dreamy blue perfection of the South Pacific to the darkest uncharted waters of Africa (and everywhere in between), John Florence faces a broad spectrum of emotions as he continues to seal his legacy as one of the most gifted surfers ever. And while the young Hawaiian is pulled in increasingly different directions, there is no form of pressure that will keep him from his ultimate goal — to redefine what is possible in the ocean.

Freshwater

Freshwater is a documentary that dives into the cold waters of Lake Superior along Minnesota’s North Shore. Despite the fact that it contains ten percent of Earth’s freshwater, this massive force of nature remains largely unexplored. One group of people, however, is intimately aware of its power. From the surfers who catch its waves to the scientists who study its depths, learn why Lake Superior is a precious resource that should never be taken for granted.

One California Day

Follow the lives of eight California surfers in the newly released film, "One California Day." Produced by Builde Worldwide, and Co-Directed by Mark Jeremias (maker of DRIVE) and Jason Baffa (maker of Singlefin:Yellow), this super 16mm film stars Joel Tudor, Chris Malloy, Alex Knost, Tyler Warren, Jimmy Gamboa, Joe Curren, Dane Perlee, and Tyler Hatzikian, with special appearances by Skip Frye, Dan and Keith Malloy, Tom Curren, Gerg Noll, and Lance Carson

Undone

It is a remarkable story of personal endeavour following professional surfer, Laura Enever who leaves a comfortable place on the WSL Championship Tour to explore the unpredictable world of big-wave surfing.

Emocean

Emocean started out as a surf film but quickly turned into something so much more than wild waves and barrel rides. This is a documentary with soul; a salty blend of stories by the eclectic assortment of people sharing tales of adventure, adrenaline, inspiration, love and loss and their relationship with the ocean. Some are well-known like Hawaii's Pipeline and California's Mavericks and others are remote spots tucked high up in North West Australia and deep in South Australia. This film, underpinned by inspiring surfing, is also a love letter to the sea woven through with experiences from surfers, filmmakers, fishermen, marine scientists and watermen.

Big Wave

Big Wave is a documentary directed by Walt Mulconery and published on May 25, 1984 that presents the types of outdoor and risky sports present on the west coast of the United States such as paragliding, surfing, skydiving, bmx or the BASE jumping together with others, going from Hawaii to Texas through California to present them.

Break Free - Two People. Two Years. One Dream

When Lena and Ulli start the engine of their old Land Rover, Lady Terés, they have a plan: to drive from Hamburg to South Africa in six months. What they don't know yet is that they won't ever get there. Two totally different characters, jammed together in two square meters of space for almost two years, they experience what it really means to travel: leaving your comfort zone for good.

Girls Can't Surf

It’s the 1980s and the world of professional surfing is a circus of fluorescent colors, peroxide hair and radical male egos. "Girls Can't Surf" follows the journey of a band of renegade surfers who took on the male-dominated professional surfing world to achieve equality and change the sport forever. Featuring surfing greats Jodie Cooper, Frieda Zamba, Pauline Menczer, Lisa Andersen, Pam Burridge, Wendy Botha, Layne Beachley and more, "Girls Can't Surf" is a wild ride of clashing personalities, sexism, adventure and heartbreak, with each woman fighting against the odds to make their dreams of competing a reality.

Waterman

Five-time Olympic medalist and Native Hawaiian Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku shattered records and brought surfing to the world while overcoming a lifetime of personal challenges. Waterman explores his journey and legacy as a legendary swimmer, trailblazer, and the undisputed father of modern-day surfing, following the sport’s first-time inclusion in this year’s Summer Olympics – a fitting tribute to his work promoting the sport around the globe.

Given

A young family leaves their home on Kauai. It is time to return to the itinerant path from which all things in their uncommon lives come; beginning and ending on a remote dot in the Pacific. They nomadically trace continents to places where waves meet their edges, envoys of aloha. It is what they will learn, what they bring others, what they will pass on to their children in the hyper-expanded classroom, the lab of direct being; a legacy passed from a father to his family.

The Church of the Open Sky

'The Church of the Open Sky' is a luscious visual love poem that explores gratefully lived surfing journeys. It is a sea soaked celebration of the exquisite preciousness of being alive.

Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy Headed People

An animated satire on the question of self-image for African American women living in a society where beautiful hair is viewed as hair that blows in the wind and lets you be free. Lively tunes and witty narration accompany a quick-paced inventory of relaxers, gels, and curlers. This short film has become essential for discussions of racism, African American cinema, and empowerment.

Dear Suburbia,

Filmed on location in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the Caribbean, Dear Suburbia, is the latest release from Kai Neville and is the follow up to his previous films Modern Collective and Lost Atlas. It is a high-performance, location-based surf film set against exotic landscapes, objects and personalities juxtaposed with the traditions of suburban life. Spontaneity versus routine. The unknown versus the familiar. An interpretation of our lifestyle, culture, riding waves, traveling the world — a pirouette into the absurdity of it all. The result is a graceful, often schizophrenic glimpse at modern life with a surfboard and a passport.

Zen and Zero

A surf trip from L.A. to Costa Rica is a classic free ride, executed by generations of surfers since the 1960's. When five landlocked Austrians get on that very road, it becomes a different thing: a comedy, a philosophical diversion, an investigation of the myth of the surfer dude itself.

Hawaiian: The Legend of Eddie Aikau

Director Sam George chronicles the remarkable life and times of the late Eddie Aikau, the legendary Hawaiian big wave surfer, pioneering lifeguard and ultimately doomed crew member of the Polynesian voyaging canoe Hokulea.

A Life of Endless Summers: The Bruce Brown Story

Follow the summer season around the world with two surfers on a quest for the perfect wave. As it turned out, Bruce was on to something. Not only did the film become a hit, it earned a cult following, became the most successful surf film of all time and arguably made him the founding father of action sports films. Directed by second generation, award winning and documentarian filmmaker Dana Brown his projects have included such titles as Endless Summer 2, Step Into Liquid, Dust to Glory, Highwater, On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter and Dust 2 Glory. A Life of Endless Summers is the story of a man, a father, a husband, a filmmaker, a pioneer, a legend.

North of the Sun

Two friends discover the perfect beach at a remote Norwegian shore just above the Arctic Circle and decide to spend the winter here – surfing. Building a hut from driftwood and living on expired food only, the young men turn sustainable living into their own Robinson-adventure, keeping their calm even in the face of personal danger.

Distance Between Dreams

In Distance Between Dreams, the most historic year in big wave surfing comes to life through the eyes of iconic surfer Ian Walsh, as he sets mind and body in motion to redefine the upper limits of what's considered 'rideable.' With massive El Niño powered swells building across the Pacific, Ian, Shaun, D.K. and Luke Walsh band together in the way only brothers can on a quest to progress surfing to unimaginable heights. Big wave surfing's transition from jet ski assists to paddling in raises the stakes, putting Walsh's intense physical and mental training, the latest technology, swell modeling, and safety team, his brothers, to the ultimate test. Surfers John John Florence, Greg Long, Shane Dorian and more link up with Walsh as he rides an emotional rollercoaster through this momentous winter.

RE-MOTE: The Lost Reels

In the process of remastering Albert Falzon's 1972 classic film, Morning of the Earth, 90 minutes of never-before-seen 16mm camera original outtakes were unexpectedly unearthed. Because of the wealth of this material, a 38-minute film was produced. Getting back to where it all began, this artistic showcase of the “Lost Reels” paints a more complete picture of the filmmaker's journey, and reveals culturally, environmentally and socially significant details of a forgotten past. The film covers Australia, Bali and Hawaii, and is accompanied by an all original soundtrack.

Birth of The Endless Summer: Discovery of St.Francis

The documentary "Birth of The Endless Summer: Discovery of Cape St. Francis" reveals the untold story behind Bruce Brown's iconic film "The Endless Summer." It follows the journey of Dick Metz, a California surf pioneer, as he travels the world from 1958 to 1961. Metz's adventures lead him to discover the "perfect wave" at Cape St. Francis in South Africa, which inspires Bruce Brown to create "The Endless Summer" and revolutionize the sport of surfing. The film also documents Metz's return to South Africa at the age of 90 to retrace his original journey. It features interviews with influential figures in the surfing world, including Metz, Bruce Brown, and other surfers. The premiere of the film at the Newport Beach Film Festival is particularly special for director Richard Yelland, as it tells a personal story rooted in his hometown.

Surf Crazy

Surf Crazy is the second movie from veteran surf film producer Bruce Brown. During this movie a group of surfers head down to numerous unsurfed spots in Mexico, some huge waves in Hawaii and some classic surf in California.

Water Time: Surf Travel Diary of a MadMan

Surfer and author, Allan C. Weisbecker, accompanied by his dog Honey, goes on the road in search of waves to ride and "to find out what happened to America."

Endless Syncopation: The Rising Fall of The Beach Boys and The California Myth

A Film by Andre Perkowski Made Out Of All The Other Beach Boys Films

Snowfall

As a winter storm approaches the shallow water crystallizes, ice builds up along the edges of a stream, and the first snowflakes of the storm layer over the newly formed ice. The following morning a soft light approaches through the snow covered forest.

Barefoot Adventure

Brown takes us to various surfing locales with his customary great photography, wry comments and solid musical score.

World Debut: From Outsiders to the Olympics

What were once lifestyle fads have evolved into some of the world's fastest-growing sports and are now set to debut on the world’s biggest stage – the Olympic Games. Step inside the journey of three new sports born on the fringes of society – skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing – alongside names like Tony Hawk, Emily Harrington, and Sofia Mulanovich.