New Smyrna Beach, FL – The fourth and final event of the 2024 Florida Surf Film Festival, presented by Monster Energy and in partnership with Daytona State College wrapped last weekend, and we are excited to announce the winners of this year’s awards. Celebrating over eleven-years of surf movies, we could not be prouder of our community, genuine fellowship, and good times spilling over from the past decade, bringing together fans from both sides of the inlet and all directions in Florida, and beyond.  Filmmakers from Argentina, New Zealand, Portugal, Canada, New Jersey, California, and Hawaii attended the 2023 festival, along with 24 new Surf Stories podcast guests from all over the world. We’re closing in on 55,000 unique listens for 2024.

We kicked off the year with a special screening of cult classic North Shore, with stars John Philbin and Gregory Harrison in attendance.  It was truly an interactive experience with fans reciting the iconic lines out-loud with John and Gregory hosting a rousing Q&A following the film.  Saturday, February 3rd was highlighted with eventual winner Calypte from filmmaker Ishka Folkwell and starring everyone’s favorite stylist, Torren Martin. The journey on Calypte through the Indonesian archipelago was truly amazing, and they took home the hardware, winning Best Surf Film – Feature, Best Soundtrack – Feature, and Best Cinematography – Feature.   

In June, we wrapped our final event at Atlantic Center for the Arts, which featured among others, the short film Turn and Go from South African duo Alan Van Gysen and Will Bendix of NOW NOW Media.  The short documentary followed the life of big-wave charger Grant “Twiggy” Baker and took home the coveted Viewer’s Choice – Short award.

August saw our inaugural event at our new home, Daytona State College’s News-Journal Center.  The Forgotten Islands – A 1700 Mile Search by Ben Herrgott, was a massive hit with the fans and took Best Documentary – Short.  Hawaii’s Noah Beschen was in attendance with his latest Noah – The Art of Surfing and entertained our fans with a Q&A while taking awards for Best Surf Film – Short and Best Cinematography – Short.  Sid Abruzzi was in the house and brought the heat packing the 850 seat theater and taking the well-deserved Best Documentary – Feature for his life story in Water Brother.

November 15th and 16th we wrapped up the year with Canadian filmmaker Nate Laverty in attendance to present his feature Creatures of Habit and taking the Viewer’s Choice – Feature. The NOW NOW Media team of Will Bendix and Alan Van Gysen took home their second award of the year for the rhythmic sounds of Changing Tempo winning Best Soundtrack – Short.  We ended the year with a mic-drop scenario as Tom Curren took the stage with son, Patrick, for a 45 minute set following Nilton Baptista and Jeremy Pfeiffer’s film Tom and I.  They rocked the house and engaged with fans, even raffling off one of Tom’s signature surfboards from Channel Islands.

We can’t begin to express how grateful we are to all the filmmakers, fans, jurors, sponsors, and board members who support the festival and have done so now for a decade.  Rewarding doesn’t begin to describe it, and we are so excited to keep it going.  YEW!

Here are all the winners for the 2024 festival year (if links are provided, check ‘em out yourselves):

Best Documentary – Short:  The Forgotten Islands – A 1700 Mile Search – Ben Hergott

Best Surf Movie – Short:  Noah – The Art of Surfing – Noah Beschen

Best Cinematography – Short:  Noah – The Art of Surfing – Noah Beschen

Best Soundtrack – Short:  Changing Tempo – Alan Van Gysen, Will Bendix

Viewers’ Choice – Short:  Turn and Go - Alan Van Gysen, Will Bendix

Best Documentary – Feature:  Water Brother – Charles and Daniel Kinnane

Best Surf Movie – Feature:  Calypte – Ishka Folkwell, Torren Martyn

Best Cinematography – Feature:  Calypte – Ishka Folkwell, Torren Martyn

Best Soundtrack – Feature:  Calypte – Ishka Folkwell, Torren Martyn

Viewers’ Choice – Feature:  Creatures of Habit – Nate Laverty

For a detail of our current year official selections, please check out our archive.  It’s been an incredible year, and there’s no way to thank all the producers, directors, cinematographers, and editors that put their hard work into these projects. Their stories are the ones we want to hear.

We recognize the difference between Best Documentary and Best Surf Movie. Those who approach the art form by documenting character, locale, etc. with personal interviews, historical footage, and anecdotal clips were in competition for Best Documentary, and those movies focusing on the high performance, action-driven sequences competed for Best Surf Movie. This award will be extended to short films as well.

Florida Surf Film Festival’s jury, comprised of twelve individuals with journalistic, cultural, and/or experiential factors will determine recognition.  Juries include:  Feature Films – Matt Warshaw, John Philbin, Scott Hulet, Chas Smith, David Scales, Keith Malloy, Lauren Hill, and Ira Opper.  Short Films – Marcus Sanders, Will Oldham, Lisa Andersen, Takuji Masuda, Matthew Shaw, Ashton Goggans, Bruce Reynolds, Brad Moody, and Joe Turpel.

We are proud to have Monster Energy serve as our presenting sponsor again for this year’s festival, providing travel and lodging for the filmmakers who attend the festival.  We’re happy to have the partnership with Daytona State College and their School of Digital Media Production.

If you’d like to make a donation to the festival to further our mission, please find our donation page here.  Thank you!  Your gift is tax deductible.

Podcast Presenting Sponsor:  Surfing’s Evolution and Preservation Foundation

Principal Partners:  Atlantic Center for the Arts, Florida Virtual School, OluKai, Roark, Sun Bum, Volusia County Wagner Vasileros – aka The Lawyer Dude, and YETI

Major Partners:  Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery, Brian Layman Wealth Management, Café Verde, Cap’n Lu’s – A Health Food Store for Pets, Clancy’s Cantina, Cronin Surfboards, Gallery 237, Globe Brand Footwear, Kembali Board Shack, Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co., and Red Dog Surf Shop

Local Partners:  Beachside Tavern, Biological Consulting Services, Daytona Climbing Company, Daytona Drywall and Plaster, Dr. Matt Smith, Dr. Phil Stephens at MyEyeDr, Dragon Alliance, Flaunt Electric Bicycles, Halifax Area Properties, Jewelry of Joy, Kula Yoga, LunDev Homes, Neighborhood Scoop, Nixon, Oceans of Hope Foundation, Pura Vida Bracelets, Solento Organic Tequila, Stephanie Stallard Real Estate, and White Claw.

Media Partnerships include:  Surfline, The Surfer’s Journal, Surf Splendor Podcast Network, Beach Grit, The SurfNetwork, American Surf Magazine, and Encyclopedia of Surfing.

Encyclopedia of Surfing provides our historical and archival needs.