Windsurfing
With The Longest Wave documentary being premiered, find out what attracted director Joe Berlinger to make a film about Robby Naish, the 24-time world champion who dominated the scene for four decades.
Trailblazer Robby Naish is better placed than anybody to reflect on the rise of global water sports over the last four decades. The 56-year-old employed his skills to become a multiple windsurfing world champion in an astonishing career that also included a pioneering role in the success of kiteboarding, stand-up paddle boarding and foil surfing.
His life and career is made for the big screen, and filmmaker Joe Berlinger decided to dig deeper into Naish's life by following him around the world to see how he balanced the pursuit of excellence at sea with the demands of life's complications on land.
Berlinger, who's known for directing groundbreaking documentaries, such as Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and the Oscar-nominated Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory came into the project with an outside eye by not being a surfer or familiar with the on-water exploits of his subject, Naish.
What he found was a personal story of drive, dedication, athletic conquest and self-realisation.
There were times where it was pretty tough to go through the emotions that we were going through
Naish's quest to master the world's longest waves and nature's big monsters unexpectedly reveals his vulnerabilities both in and out of the ocean.
The Hawaii Waterman Hall of Famer said: "I loved the stuff that Joe did previously. Really, really different and intense. It wasn't easy for anyone around me that was involved with the project and, for me, there were times where it was pretty tough to go through the emotions that we were going through."
Weeks before his inaugural attempt at taming the longest wave, Naish suffered his first major injury – a near fatal hip fracture – with Berlinger on hand to see how Robby dealt with the huge setback in the midst of a difficult divorce and business turmoil.
I was not expecting to make this film. I'm not a surfer, you would think I would be the last person to make a film about Robby Naish
Using a mix of intimate interviews and action sequences, The Longest Wave gives us a rare glimpse into what motivates an athlete who's achieved all there is to achieve, but still puts it all on the line to push his body and mind to the limit.
Berlinger revealed: "I was not expecting to make this film. I'm not a surfer, you would think I would be the last person to make a film about Robby Naish, but it actually made me the best person. I'm always curious about things I don't know about.
“Robby also wanted somebody who wasn't going to give him the typical surf film and treat him with the reverence with which one surfer would treat another. I try to create an environment where they forget the cameras are around, so we can get at the truth. I'm so glad I did it, I had such a great time."
The Longest Wave is a RadicalMedia, Red Bull Films and Third Eye Motion Picture Company production and premieres at the DOC NYC Film Festival in New York City on November 13 and at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia on November 17. Coming to theatres in the summer of 2020.