Fri, 31 January 2014



The Wavescape Surf Film Festival is stoked to announce the 2013 film award winners, selected by a jury from a record number of entries submitted to the Cape Town leg of the festival.

A panel of five jurors, headed by surfing historian and surf culture writer Glen Thompson, selected "McConkey" (Produced by Red Bull Media house, Directed by Rob Bruce, Scotty Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter and David Zieff) as the best feature film at the festival, which is presented by Pick n Pay.

“McConkey” celebrates the life of one of the world’s ultimate innovators. The explosive skills of Shane McConkey smashed down doors to launch the soaring evolution of freeskiing and ski base-jumping. This heartfelt examination of the legacy he left lies at the heart of this incredible and moving documentary.

THE JURY'S VOTE

• Best Feature: McConkey, directed by Rob Bruce, Scotty Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff

• Best Short: Home, directed by Lauren De Vos & Otto Whitehead

• Audience Choice: The Old, The Young and the Sea, directed by Mario Hainzl & Andreas Jaritz (Austria)

• Best Cinematography: Russia, directed by Chris Burkard

Best Short Film went to the local gem "Home", Directed by Lauren De Vos & Otto Whitehead. The film explores the connections that bind us to other people, to other species and ultimately, to our home on this earth - specifically to our beautiful and complex False Bay in South Africa.

Best Cinematography went to Russia, Directed by Chris Burkard. Keith Malloy and friends journey to remote Kamchatka on Russia’s Pacific rim, where they scour remote breaks in a Soviet-era army truck or a helicopter held together with rubber bands. This is back to basics filmmaking, beautifully captured by leading lens-man Chris Burkard.

The Audience Choice award went to The Old, The Young and the Sea, Directed by Mario Hainzl and Andreas Jaritz. This classic road-trip down the surf highways and byways of Europe truly enchanted audiences young and old.

Founder of the festival Ross Frylinck said that the festival was honoured to have had such a high standard of film-making: "We thank all the filmmakers who entered their films for the 2013 Festival, and also our Jury who kindly volunteered their time".

The Wavescape Surf Festival runs in Durban in July, and Cape Town in December. Our presenting sponsor in 2013 was Pick n Pay, and supporting sponsors the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), WWF’s Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI), Jack Black Beer, and glacéau vitaminwater. Media partners were Wavescape.co.za, The Next 48 Hours, Men’s Health and www.capetownmagazine.com