Surfing is going to the dogs, or at least from a pooch’s point of view in the dynamic new surfing movie “Free As A Dog ” A True Dog’s Tale.” The film will screen at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 30 at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) Sherwood Auditorium, 700 Prospect St. Produced by long-time talented surf filmmaker Jack McCoy, the movie features spectacular high-performance surfing along the wave-rich coastline of Australia and as part of the touring Billabong Jack McCoy Surf Film Festival. It finishes with highlights of the recent 2006 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, with stunning footage of the most massive waves surfed on earth over the last season.
“Free As A Dog ” A True Dog’s Tale” follows the travels of Aussie mega-surfing talent Joel “Parko” Parkinson and is seen and narrated though Parkinson’s loyal pet dog “Trey.” The film showcases “The Superbank” near Parko’s home turf in Coolangatta, Queensland, which is a man-made stretch of sandy beach that produces long, perfectly barreling waves. Then Parko and Trey set out to help straighten out a couple young surfers (played by James “Woody” Wood and Ellis Ericson) who have gone ga-ga with infatuation over a beautiful older girl played by Ashley Cheadle. As the story develops, hot surfing footage of the three riders, including some at never-before-photographed locations, is interspersed with Parkinson helping the young lads sort out their problems. They confront the girl, confess their perceived love and then focus onto their surfing skills while Trey faithfully observes.
“Free As A Dog” is the 24th surf film by the Hawaiian-born McCoy, who has lived in Australia for many years. His credits include the well-crafted “Tubular Swells,” “Storm Riders,” “Bunyip Dreaming,” “The Green Iguana” and “Blue Horizon,” which garnered top honors for best picture and best biography at the 2005 Fifth Annual X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival in Park City, Utah. McCoy also worked on the Hollywood-financed “Endless Summer II” feature film and numerous major company commercials. His skills developed over 25 years of tight, sharp, land and water photography are well respected in the surfing industry.
The Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards documents the biggest waves paddled and towed-into by daredevil riders at such spots as Mavericks near Half Moon Bay, Ghost Tree on the Monterey Peninsula, and Todos Santos Island in Baja California. Contest winner Brad Gerlach, 40, of San Diego, recently nabbed the $68,000 prize for riding a measured 68-foot monster of a wave at Todos Santos this past winter.
The Billabong Jack McCoy Surf Film Festival will also include “131.9 Cents” by Tony Mason, the winning entry from the 2006 Panasonic Surfshorts Competition.
Tickets for “Free As A Dog ” A True Dog’s Tale” and the accompanying short films are $9 and are available at www.ticketweb.com, selected surf shops or at the MCASD Sherwood Auditorium box office. For more information, visit www.billabong.com.
