Wavescape Surf and Ocean Festival 2019, which will run as part of the Durban International Film Festival’s 40th anniversary program, has announced a bumper line-up of 19 films, with the addition of a unique evening of talks dedicated to the ocean.

To focus on conservation of oceans and planet, Wavecape brings Slide Night to Durban, featuring talks by ocean thought leaders on a wide range of topics—including science, sustainability, adventure and activism—to its program of films to be screened at DIFF 2019.

DIFF 2019 runs from July 18 —28 July, 2019.

The Wavescape surf fest kicks off on Sunday July 21 with a free outdoor screening on Bay of Plenty lawns—take picnic, chairs and warm stuff: 7pm start. Wavescape runs through July 26. Connect on Facebook.

Slide Night will be hosted by PETCO and Wavescape at the South African Association for Marine Biological Research at uShaka Marine World on Thursday 25 July. Well-known ocean advocate, free diver and Durban surfer Olivia Symcox will emcee the evening. Talks will range from how to recycle trash to a Sea Shepherd skipper speaking about the activist group’s work in South Africa.

Wavescape has announced several blockbuster documentaries for DIFF, including Andy Irons: Kissed by God—the tragic story of Andy Irons’ bipolar disorder and opioid addiction and Trouble: The Lisa Andersen Story. These will be screened at Musgrave Ster-Kinekor.

The award-winning Cape Town big-wave movie, Satori, as well as the Mikey February classic, Can’t Steal Our Vibe—and two other short films —will be screened at the Bay of Plenty free open-air Wavescape festival launch.

The festival then moves on to two days of free screenings at uShaka Marine World and three nights at Musgrave Ster-Kinekor.

Several African premieres to be screened include How to Learn How to Surf, a hilarious spoof of surf culture fresh off its world premiere in the US;
Thank You Mother, a South Africa/Australia film, is narrated by Australian filmmaker Albert Falzon (who made the seminal 1970 surf film Morning of the Earth).

What is a surf film festival without huge waves? Wavescape will present the African premiere of White Rhino, featuring gigantic waves in Hawaii, Tahiti, and Fiji. 
Nordurland, the other premiere, is shot in the Arctic Circle, and will no doubt have Durban surfers running for their wetsuits, which they do when water temperatures drop below 28ºC.

Other films include the ode to the ocean, Emocean, filmed in Australia, California and Hawaii and featuring conservationist Sacha Guggenheimer, Pipeline surfing legend Jamie O’Brien, big wave pioneer Jeff Clark, iconic surf filmmaker Paul Witzig, and Hawaiian photographer Brent Bielmann.
Transcending Waves, directed by the Gauchos del Mar brothers Julian and Joaquin Azulay—who will be in attendance—features a sweeping epic shot in the Falkland Islands, where they try to use surfing to help heal the scars created by the 1982 War between Britain and Argentina.

• Book here for SLIDE NIGHT at Ushaka Marine World.
• Book online for Wavescape at Musgrave Ster-Kinekor, book online
• Click through for more info on WaveScape Surf Festival.
• Click here for more information about the DIFF 2019.
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