Z365" or "Festival all year round" is the new strategic point of the Festival in which converge investigation, accompaniment and development of new talents (Ikusmira Berriak, Nest); training and cinematic knowledge transfer (Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, Zinemaldia + Plus, Filmmakers' dialogue); and investigation, disclosure and cinematic thought (Z70 project, Thought and Discussion and Research and publications).
Peter Hamblin is a filmmaker gifted with boundless imagination, energy and vision. Frank Solomon is a surfer forged with a steely determination and drive to charge the biggest waves in the planet. Combine these two forces and the offspring is a visceral big screen voyage through the unseen and unknown world of surf adventurer Frank James Solomon, an intercontinental clandestine investigation blurring the lines between myth, legend and reality that leads to the question… Just who is Frank?
Frank Solomon will let nothing get in the way of his dream of being a pro surfer. He battles waves, attacks problems head on and busts down barriers. His many complex facades are a source of intrigue for one man, an inquisitive aristocrat. Our conspirator guides us through mirrored worlds of fact and fi ction, proposing wild theories and exposing a realm that lies somewhere between reality and what we are continuously told to believe.
Let’s Be Frank draws together a cast of iconic surfers, including John John Florence, Jamie O’Brien and Pat O’Connell, with actors such as Cokey Falkow (Penny Dreadful) and Michael Redmond (Vikings), to tell a genre busting, multi-layered story of big wave hold downs, back street beat-downs and North Shore show-downs.
Up and coming Director Peter Hamblin (Wright Side of Wrong) has produced a trademark visual feast combining stunning cinematography with a fast paced, edgy storyline. Juxtapozing a stylized 50’s colour palette with the crisp clarity of the coastal landscapes from South Africa’s Cape Town to Mexican Pipeline, the gnarly North Shore of Hawaii and the Irish seaside resort of Bundoran, this feature film takes you on a journey across the globe and to the edge of reality.
Featuring an original score by three-time Grammy Award winner and surfer Ben Harper, as well as Jesse Ingalls & Jason Mozersky. Let’s Be Frank is a movie that redefines the boundaries of the surf film genre, drawing on influences from across the movie world. This immersive experience channels Wes Anderson, Guy Richie and David Fincher and mixes in a sprinkling of Taylor Steele and Joe G to navigate through the perceived worlds of one of the world most respected chargers on the planet. Frank Solomon is not your average surfer, and this is not your average surf film.
CHRIS NELSON Director London Surf Film Festival