no small wonder

Making films is another extension of what I'm interested in. It's a huge medium to work within. It combines photography, interviews, music, editing, travel, finance, other people, patience, ideas and endless trails with endless possibilities. It's a fun process but one that often seems insurmountable. There are so many factors involved in the making of a film - it's a small wonder they are even made at all.

When Jon Frank, Mark Sutherland and I made Litmus we wanted to reflect the beauty and passion we felt for surfing. We knew other people that felt this way, and they helped convey the very essence of what is so special about the surfing life.

Jon and I spent months with Wayne Lynch in Victoria, watching and filming his life. Wayne's life revolves around his family and the moods of the ocean. To support his family Wayne shapes boards. This all takes time, and when the waves are good Wayne is often working or looking after the kids. Anyone with a family knows how much energy this consumes.

When we filmed 'Litmus' Wayne was 45 years young, a far cry from that kid in 'Evolution'. Surfing for Wayne, like for many people, is his escape. Having a camera around is really the last thing you want. But Wayne let us in. He joked with us and drove us mental with his endless search for the perfect wave. Then he'd sit on the cliff and watch it all go by, enjoying the peace of his place.
Over the years I've learnt more about the world and its cultures from Wayne than from anybody. He's fascinated by all aspects of world culture, from music, to painting, family, ways of living and architecture. He's happy share it all. To talk about the problems facing indigenous cultures and the problems indigenous cultures could save the world from experiencing through their knowledge of the earth and their heritage.

When I interviewed Wayne for 'Litmus' we built a fire in his Tee Pee and he slipped on the same Moroccan coat he wore in 'Evolution'. He told a story about being in Morocco when he was 15: having a family invite him for dinner. He said they were terribly poor and had little food, but were willing to share everything they had with him. Wayne was deeply touched by their sensibilities, and I believe he's taken these sensibilities into his own life. This is how Wayne lives, and I thank him for sharing part of his life with me.

Derek Hynd was another character that shared his life with Jon and I. We stayed in his castle at Jeffreys Bay for three months waiting for swells and filming him on a variety of surfboards.
The designs were so diverse but none the less functional. For example: In the morning Hynd would ride a 22 inch wide, 5'8" Skip Frye twin keeled fish. For his second session he'd ride an 8'6", three inch thick, Tom Parrish single fin, circa late 70's. And for the late session he'd ride a 9'9" Brewer thruster, four inches thick. Each day he'd have a new board for the conditions. He rode each one with the style needed to deliver its best performance. It was fascinating to watch, and I believe Derek's surfing in 'Litmus' really opened the minds of many people as to what was actually a functional surfboard.

From Africa we traveled to Ireland and met up with Joel Fitzgerald and Shaun Munro. Shaun stayed for a few weeks during the summer and we scored some pristine little barrels with him at a local reef before he moved on. It was our first taste of the surf possibilities in Ireland and we thought it a good idea to stay longer. Joel stayed with us in our search for waves and "good music".

We met up with the 'Screaming Orphans' in the local Bridge Bar. The 'Screaming Orphans' were a band of four Irish sisters with the prettiest voices we'd ever heard. We surfed with them, drank with them, danced with them, and when it came time for us to leave we asked them if they would record 'Black is the Colour of my True Loves Hair,' a traditional song, for the Irish section in 'Litmus'. They were happy to do this. We recorded it live in their front lounge room. It was a beautiful moment.

We stayed in Ireland until the winter moved in. Joel loved and was involved in everything. He made his first live performance musically with the 'Screaming Orphans', in a smokey corner of the Olde Bridge Bar. He drank Guinness and became family with the locals. He danced and entertained the young lasses until four in the morning at 'Peppies'. Attended church the next day, and sat for Sunday roasts every weekend with the coincidentally named Fitzgerald family, who had generously offered us a place to stay. It is testimony to Joel that in 'Litmus' he rides ten-foot barrels by himself at an uncharted reef. That afternoon he also went on to ride a ten-foot Sunset style right. Joel is a true surfer and proudly carries on his father's tradition. Fitzgerald is an Irish name.

Mark Sutherland's animated film 'Dream' also appeared in 'Litmus'. 'Dream' is an anti heroin cartoon, and quite shocking in its imagery. I've had people say to me: the cartoon has no place in a surfing film. I feel quite the opposite. Drug use is a fact of life, and I don't see any reason keeping the realities of it in the closet.

One of my favourite sequences in 'Litmus' is the one with Tom Curren. He surfs in his home waters to his own guitar playing - guitar playing we recorded during a backyard jam in Victoria. I think it's a really unique and special thing, and really shows off what a gifted human Tom is.

I've been working a lot with Tom and his younger brother Joe for a sequence in my next film 'Glass Love'. Hopefully I'll be able to convey how special their relationship is with the ocean.
Filmmaking is a fine line. I always feel like I'm asking for some private emotion the study doesn't necessarily want to give away. So I'd like to thank anyone I've ever worked with in filming. And I'd like to say, I feel just as uncomfortable behind the camera as you no doubt feel in front of it.
Hopefully 'Glass Love' will be released sometime in the near future.

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email: andrew@litmus.com.au

Derek Hynd in the Hebridean Islands

Derek Hynd

Shaun Munro

Ireland

The Screaming Orphans

Joel Fitzgerald

Joel Fitzgerald back inside

Occy at Bells from Litmus
Tom Curren on fish