Surf Theatre has brought the passion
of surfing to the public for several
years, thanks to the efforts of its
owner/promoter team of Leslie and
Dave Carlos. In addition to
monthly surfing films premiered at
Huntington Beach, Manhattan Beach
and Encinitas, the dynamic duo have
hosted a surfing film festival for
several years at the U.S. Open of
Surfing & Beach Games. Surf fans
attending the 3rd Annual Surf Film
Festival were treated to screenings
of a Warren Miller ski flick
complete with pumped up action
including radical footage of monster
waves in a recent surf film festival
event.
All Aboard the Crazy Train from the
legendary big wave filmmakers who
produced the smash hits Step Into
Liquid and Riding Giants was another
film great shown at Huntington
Beach's Main & Pacific Coast Highway
Mann Theatre at Pierside Pavilion.
Leslie Carlos of Big Red Productions
works hard all year to make each
event a complete night out,
including a DJ spinning beats as
people enter the lobby, live bands
and huge raffles. Stoked is the
result of this monster effort.
Carlos has always shared a passion
for films and has turned that
interest into a profession. She and
her husband, Dave, produce special
events both on the mainland and in
Hawaii each year. They offer
contract services for many types of
event planning but are especially
known for their expertise in the
surf genre.
Restoring a tradition to Southern
California's surf culture where
decades ago, some cities such as
Huntington Beach had movie houses
dedicated to surf films, the crowds
now are a mix of the old-timers and
a young, hip, extreme mix of
action-sports teens, tweens and 20
to 100 somethings.
Previous films shown at this Surf
Theatre series have included All
Aboard the Crazy Train, a surf film
from Bam Man productions. In their
latest venture, the big wave
documentary filmmakers behind Step
Into Liquid and Riding Giants
capture pioneers Laird Hamilton,
Dave Kalama, Darrick Doerner and
others in never-before-seen footage
filmed at Peahi, Maui during the
historic winters of 2004 and 2005.
Five Summer Stories is the
culmination of the joint surf-film
careers of Jim Freeman and Greg
MacGillivray; Jesse’s Story;
Fabio Fabuloso Brazilian night
with featured surfing great Fabio
Gouveia; Blackwater: The Story Of
Teahupoo, Australian filmmaker
Tim Bonython’s documentary of
Teahupoo, a humble Tahitian village
and a coral reef wave that “changed
surfing forever,” with
never-before-seen footage of two
days of surfing from Billabong Pro;
and Wave Warriors III, a
tribute to life-long waterman Herbie
Fletcher are all films that have
been shown at this event.Luminaries
such as Greg MacGillivray, Dana
Brown, Bob "The Greek" Bolen and
Pete (PT) Townend have attended
these events, as have the world's
top surfers, many who play in bands
that have also performed during the
film premiers.
For more information, contact Leslie
Carlos at Big Red Productions, at
(714) 842-4338.
