Wavescapes aims to showcase the best in surf films while also providing a platform to educate people about marine issues

Wavescapes, presented by the Save Our Seas Foundation, runs for 18 days between 2 and 20 December. A special exhibition of decorated surfboards by acclaimed South African artists will be on show for the first week at Depasco Cafe in Cape Town, followed by a gala art auction by comedian Mark Sampson on Wednesday 9. Proceeds of the auction go to ocean focused charities including the NSRI and Shark Spotters. Last year, R119,000 was raised.


The Present - one of the films showing at Wavescapes

This is followed by the opening film of the festival under the stars at Clifton Fourth Beach on Friday December 11. This year, an even bigger screen is planned for the movie, which last year attracted 3,000 people. The evening at Clifton, described as the most beautiful cinema in the world, is followed by a week of shows at the Labia Cinema in the city and a seaside surfer hangout in Kalk Bay called the Brass Bell.

A broad mix of surfing films, from eulogies about waves to gritty documentaries, will be screened at the festival, which is supported by Cape Talk, KFM, Cape Times, Men’s Health and Wavescape.co.za.

The unusual documentary Glacier Project follows two big wave surfers from warmer climes to the frigid wastelands of Alaska, where they attempt to surf mini-tsunamis created by cliff-sized chunks of ice falling from a melting glacier. Locally made film Black People Don’t Swim recounts the story of Kwezi Qika, a champion longboarder who has overcome great odds to reach the pinnacle of his sport. Fly in the Champagne, a powerful and drama-filled action film, documents the fiercest rivalry in professional surfing: Andy Irons versus Kelly Slater.  The footage in Inside Teahupoo at this world famous reef break in Tahiti marks another leap in the technology of filming waves from inside the curling tube.

A highlight of the festival this year is Musica Surfica, an award-winning and inspiring documentary that represents the intersection of art, music and surfing, starring Australian surf legend Derek Hynd and Richard Tognetti, leading violinist and Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra who plays his R65-million Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù violin while Hynd shows the way with his finless surfboard .

The Wavescapes Surf Festival 2009 runs from 2 - 20 December 2009 in Cape Town.