Synopsis
In the early eighties, while sailing off remote Lombok Island in Indonesia, young California surfer Bill Heick and his friends (called the “Golden Beards”) stumbled across the perfect wave…a pristine barreling left reeling endlessly and empty over a shallow, live-coral reef. As treacherous as it was beautiful, it was later dubbed “Desert Point” for its dry forbidding nature. In the years that followed, a pioneer crew of hardcore surfers set up a makeshift beach outpost and kept their treasure off the surf-media map for almost a decade. Their mission: to surf uncrowded Desert Point at the highest level possible…no matter the cost. But Paradise, they quickly found, came at a price. Camping rough on the beach for months at a time was far from an idyllic vacation and came with its own set of annoyances, malaise and outright danger. Life on the remote point was a constant balancing act between the surfing dream and the very real possibility of injury, armed robbery and life-threatening disease. But the siren’s call of the Perfect Wave held strong and has kept the pioneers, and the thousands who have followed, returning to “Deserts” for decades.
SCREENINGS
2017
APRIL 24: WORLD PREMIERE: NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL, 5:15 pm, TRIANGLE CINEMAS, 1870 HARBOR BLVD, COSTA MESA, CA 92627
MAY 12: Surf film Fest premiere: SAN DIEGO SURF FILM FESTIVAL, special showing, 5:45 pm, MISFIT GALLERY, 565 PEARL ST. 100 LA JOLLA CA 92037
July 21/23/26: Honolulu Surf film Festival, Doris Duke Theatre, 900 kinau st., honolulu, ca 96814. Click this link for showtimes.
Sept. 13: Opening Night Indonesian Premiere, Ombak Bali Surf Film Festival, La Laguna, Jl. Pantai Kayu Putih, Berawa, Mengwi. Click here For Program.
Sept. 27: San Sebastian Film festival/Savage Cinema. Plaza de las Cigarreras, 1, 2ª planta 20012 DONOSTIA – SAN SEBASTIÁN
Sept 29: Santa Cruz Surf Film Fest, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Nov 10: East Coast Premiere! Florida Surf Film Fest, Atlantic Center for the Arts, 1414 Art Center Avenue, New Smyrna Beach, Florida 32168
2018
March 15: Santa Barbara Premiere, Benefit for Surfrider Santa Barbara. A Tribute to Bruce Brown 6:30 pm & 8:30 pm, Center Stage Theatre Paseo Nuevo Center, upstairs at the intersection of Chapala and De la Guerra Streets, Santa Barbara, California. Tickets on sale now: 805 963-0408
March 17: San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, Special screening, Bay Theatre 464 Morro Bay Blvd, Morro Bay, CA 93442 Time: TBA
April 8: American Documentary Film Festival, 12:00 noon at the Camelot Theatre 2300 E. Baristo Rd., Palm Springs 92262
July 20 Ericeira Portuguese Surf Film Festival Opening Night, 11 pm. Casa De Cultura, Rua Mendes Leal 2655-305 Ericeira, Portugal
July 23-27 14th Annual Wavescape Surf Film Festival at the Durban International Surf Film Festival, 6 PM. Arena 5, Village 5 uShaka Marine World, Durban, South Africa.
August 3-4, Berlin Surf Fest, 7 PM, Zweidrei Raum, Gitschener Str 20 10960 Berlin Germany
August 23, KPBS TV Screening, 9 PM. Check here for schedule. Second screening on August 27 KPBS2, 9 PM. Click here for more details.
PRESS
Bill Heick, filming in Indonesia, late 1970s.
