Ross Whitaker’s beautiful new Irish surfing documentary, Between Land and Sea, will have a limited Irish cinema release screening at the IFI and selected venues from March 5th. Between Land and Sea is a year-long insight into the lives of those who love to live beside the ocean.
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Ross Whitaker (When Ali Came to Ireland, Saviours, Unbreakable: The Mark Pollock Story), Between Land and Sea is a year in the life of an Irish surf town at the mercy of the Atlantic Ocean.
This observational feature – at times intimate, at times epic – embeds itself in the Big Wave surf community to present a thoroughly engaging and visually stunning portrait of the ever-changing life at land’s end. The decisions we make early in life can have consequences more far-reaching than we imagine when we make them. Young surfers dedicate their lives to the ocean, consumed by the excitement and beauty on offer but how can they balance that with the inevitabilities of later life – money to earn, mouths to feed?
Against the backdrop of Ireland’s stunning west coast, this film digs deep into the day to day lives of the surf community, taking the audience beyond the bluster of the typical adrenaline-fueled film to create a very real portrait of those who choose the surf lifestyle. Between Land and Sea features some of the biggest waves and best surfers in Ireland – as well as a thrilling cameo by Hawaiian legend Shane Dorian. It’s an exhilarating and moving, humorous and thought-provoking account of the ocean-going natives of West Clare.
Between Land and Sea – Ollie O’FlahertyCommenting on the release director Ross Whitaker said:
I’m delighted to be bringing Lahinch and its folk to screens around Ireland as I found it to be a surprisingly special place. I set out to make a different kind of surf film, one that went beyond the hype of some surf films to find the quiet truth of what it means to choose to be a surfer, how it impacts your entire life in myriad different ways. Living at the edge of the Atlantic in Ireland’s wild west is hard – rain is heavy, winds are strong and waves are monstrous. But for the right person it’s a cold paradise living along that incredible coastline.
The film enjoyed its world premiere at the Cork Film Festival last November, and will play around the country at venues including Garter Lane in Waterford, The Model in Sligo, Eye Cinema in Galway, The Glor Theatre in Ennis, University of Limerick, The Gate Cinema in Cork, Mermaid County Wicklow Arts Theatre in Bray, and University College Dublin.
This intimate yet oftentimes extraordinarily exhilarating film manages at once to be a subtle and sensitive portrait of a community, and a sweeping and powerful celebration of one of the best stretches of surf in the world. The people of Lahinch should get a copy of Between Land and Sea, and bury it as a time capsule for future generations.
James Mullighan, Creative Director, Cork Film Festival
Ticket and venue info will be available from www.betweenlandandsea.com.
