drift, perspectives in surfing

Words: Ed Fladung

Photos: Courtesy of Christopher Cutri

Chris Cutri is the director of two recent films that focus on surf culture, Riding the Wave and Hanging Five. Surfing is at the heart of both of his films but there is a secondary subject in each that decouples the films from standard travel-style surf films filled with beautiful slow-mo wave riding. We come for the surfing, but we stay for something more. Riding The Wave explores surfing’s love/hate relationship with the multi-billion dollar surf industry it helped create. Hanging Five looks at the relationship between surfing and art. Cutri is a bold new voice on the surf culture scene and his films are directly responsible for helping broaden surf culture’s internal dialog.

Ed: When did you first start surfing and what are your first surf recollections?

Chris: Like many young kids in Southern California, I started bodyboarding. I was able to experience at a young age that blissful feeling of riding down a wave. As I got older, I started seeing kids my age surfing. I would sit on the beach and see them standing up and riding the face and I wanted to do the same thing so badly. I bought my first surfboard at a garage sale for $25. It was a McCoy thruster. I remember the many road trips I took with friends to go surfing-camping at San Onofre, heading down to San Diego and Mexico and eventually surfing in Hawaii. As I don’t get to surf as much as I used to, I love thinking back in my mind of some of the fun waves that I have caught and trying to re-create those experiences in my head. I have this deep fantasy/desire that one day I’ll be able to watch all the rides I’ve ever had in my life.

Ed: You have a traditional background in filmmaking, what inspired you to turn your talents toward surf culture related films?

Chris: I went to grad school at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, CA and received in MFA in Directing. I started directing commercials and eventually started doing documentaries. Due to my background of growing up surfing, I was always interested in the culture. I was always more interested in certain “ideas” about the culture rather than just the surfing itself and that’s what led me to do my first documentary Riding The Wave. The film deals with the sub-culture of surfing being co-opted by corporations. What once used to be a sub-culture with some counter culture roots, has now become part of the dominant culture so much so that some of the companies involved in this activity are traded on the stock market. This idea coupled with the notion that many of the younger participants of surfing and youth culture in general have been sucked into this idea that their identity and sometimes their self-worth comes from what they wear and what they consume. All of these issues I found to be fascinating and troubling and it’s what served as the impetus of making that first film. I think the topic of the surf culture being co-opted and all of that is something that a lot of surfers thought about, maybe whispered about at parties, but never really spoke about loudly or have been given a forum to discuss the topic.

Ed: The surf industry seems to be rather insular, how did you manage to get such spectacularly honest and often comedic participation from such industry heavyweights in Riding the Wave?

Chris: I knew on one end of the spectrum I wanted to have Steve Pezman share his thoughts. I think he is one of the most articulate people concerning this subject. He’s like the high priest of the surf culture and I knew he would be an important piece to the film. When I called him up and told him what I was doing he started to laugh. It was not a mocking laugh towards me or the project, but rather a cynical laugh towards the whole situation. He was very willing to participate and helped me get in contact with a lot of other people. Also in that same camp was Dave Parmenter who is also quite eloquent and opinionated about the topic. I knew to make the piece balanced and the film richer, we needed to hear what the CEO’s of the large companies were saying. I had no idea how I was going to get them. I cold called Paul Naude of Billabong and left a message on his answering machine and gave him the details of the project. The next day I’m sitting at my office and I see a 310 area code on my caller id and I thought, “Could this be Paul Naude?” It was. He said he doesn’t like doing interviews, but that he’d be willing to do this one to set the record straight about the topic. Once he was on board, it became much easier to get Bob Hurley and Bob Mcknight. I feel that I approached the topic in an honest and sincere way. I had done my research, I understood the culture, and I came prepared. All of the people that I interviewed, I think, recognized this and it facilitated the process of them being able to express their views openly and honestly.

Ed: Your new film is entitled Hanging Five and features five emerging artists who camp out at the crossroads of surfing and art, some create surf art, others are artists whose art is highly influenced by their surfing practice. How did you decide to focus on surfing and art?

Chris: I’ve always been surrounded by art. My sister is a fine artist. My mother-in-law was a quite successful artist, but it hasn’t been until the last few years that I have really appreciated art. This has coincided with me following the art movement in surf culture. I found it so fascinating to see how integral art has been to the culture. Not only was I interested in documenting the work of these five really interesting artists, but I also wanted to see why/how surf culture promotes and supports the arts. What is it about surfing, or skating for that matter, that incorporates art into the fabric of the culture? Do NASCAR or NFL fans go home and paint or go to gallery shows on a consistent basis? These questions coupled with the notion that I love to view and make art myself were the big reasons for making this film.

Ed: As with Riding the Wave, you’ve assembled another great cast for Hanging Five, can you shed some light on your process? How do you manage to get such interestingly diverse people on film?

Chris: I chose the artists who resonated with me personally. They’re all really talented in different ways. Again, I think everyone appreciated the concept of the film and that’s what facilitated me getting these particular artists, along with the success of my first film.

Ed: You had an opening premier for Hanging Five recently, at La Paloma Theater in San Diego. What else do you have planned for Hanging Five? How can I see your film?

Chris: The premiere at La Paloma was a great experience. I will possibly be doing a screening in San Francisco and the film will most likely be playing at a few film festivals here soon. The film is being distributed by Extreme-Video and the DVD will be able to be purchased on their site or www.hangingfive.com.