Iconic surfer Gerry Lopez has a name for the pursuit of tackling unpredictable ocean waves, the snowy slopes and other outdoor, adrenaline-infused activities that require not just physical ability, but a sharp mental focus.
“Moving meditation sports” is what he calls them, because they force people into a higher state of consciousness “where you’re so intently concentrating on what it is you’re doing, that you really get to live the moment,” Lopez, still an avid snowboarder and surfer, said.
His life chasing waves and finding balance in nature is documented in the film “The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez,” just one of dozens of adventure films being showcased in the Coast Film & Music Festival that kicked off Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Festival of Arts complex in Laguna Beach.
The five-day festival, which first launched in 2019, showcases surfing, snow sports, climbing, hiking, biking – basically anything that celebrates nature and the great outdoors.
Enich Harris, left, and Ben Warner, co-founders of Coast Film Festival, now in its fourth year. The festival, which focuses on action sports and outdoor pursuits, is held at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
This year’s festival kicked off at the Hobie Surf Shop with a sold-out screening of Laguna Beach native Greg MacGillivray’s “Five Summer Stories,” an early-era surf film now celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The film will also be the closing night feature at the Laguna Legends Filmmaker Showcase, accompanied by a performance by Laguna Beach band Honk, which will play several of the original songs from the soundtrack. The evening will include stories told by MacGillivray and Honk band members.
“We’re ecstatic that festival goers will get the chance to relive that magical summer of ’72 when this classic film, deemed ‘the greatest surf movie ever made,’ was first released,” said Ben Warner, co-founder of the film festival and executive producer, in an event announcement.
The poster for Five Summer Stories, a surf film made 50 years ago by Laguna Beach local Greg MacGillivray, who will show the film during the final night of the Coast Film Festival in Laguna Beach on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. (Photo courtesy of SHACC)
The goal of “Five Summer Stories” was to make a state-of-the-art surf film that would reflect the broader cultural shifts happening in the late ’60s and early ’70s “when youth culture was experimenting in so many creative ways and surfing was going through its own pivotal transition,” said MacGillivray, who teamed with fellow filmmaker Jim Freeman for the project, which premiered in 1972 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
“The film really took the surfing world by storm, and the music by Honk and the Beach Boys was critical to the film’s overall success,” MacGillivray said in a news release.
The Coast Film & Music Festival continues Thursday, with a focus on mountain and snow films, featuring “Adventure Not War 2,” “Ark” and “Magic Hour.”
Friday’s line up starts with a sunrise stretch and recovery class by McKenna Waitley and a Roark Run Amok Trail Run, both at 8 a.m., and a mountain bike ride at 8:30 a.m. with Cameron Zink and Troy Lee, before featured films are shown through the day.
Daytime films focus on nature, while the evening will showcase films about climbing, cycling and mountain biking.
Another sunrise hike will be held Saturday. Artist Jane Lee McCracken, founder and artistic director of the UK-based nonprofit Drawing for the Planet, will lead a special workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for kids of all ages to draw ocean-inspired art and their favorite marine animals. During the same time, a Do Good Village will be set up for a focus on nonprofits that give back to nature.
The line up Saturday also includes student films showcased throughout the morning, as well as a feature matinee of “Through the Doggy Door,” a short film block of “Our Oceans” and several more films. Live music will entertain through the day, including EJ Worland at 1 p.m. and Matt Costa at 3 p.m.
The evening action Saturday kicks off with the Follow The Light surf photography grant award, in honor of longtime Surfing Magazine photographer Larry “Flame” Moore, at 5 p.m., followed by the showing of “The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez.”
The film tells the story of the iconic surfer’s journey to becoming Mr. Pipeline and how Lopez found the mental ability to ride the monstrous Banzai Pipeline on Oahu’s North Shore with a smooth, relaxed style like no other. The film premiered in Encinitas earlier this year and has been showcased around the world, from Japan to Australia, before riding into Laguna Beach.
“I think for many, it’s just continuing to do what our passion is – surfing. To still enjoy it and have fun doing it, it still feels like it’s giving you as much as it ever did,” said Lopez, who this week celebrated his 74th birthday. “I think that’s something all of us look at and examine pretty often, maybe every day of our lives.”
The film will be followed by “Gravity,” which tracks two-time surfing world champion John John Florence on the North Shore of Oahu. Florence and longtime friend and star of “Endless Summer II,” Pat O’Connell, are expected to be in attendance for a Q & A following the film. “Facing Monsters,” a movie about big-wave surfing, caps the evening with an appearance by Australian gigantic-wave surfer Kerby Brown.
The final day of the festival, the Laguna Legends Filmmaker Showcase, will include an “Every Day Wonders” short film block at 11 a.m., followed by featured matinee “The Territory” at 2 p.m., with live music playing through the afternoon.
In addition to the “Five Summer Stories” showing on the final night for the Legends of Laguna Beach theme, “Queen Moorea will be showcased along with skimboarding film “Easy Slider.”
For a full schedule, go to: coastfilmfestival.com/event-info.