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Chasing Dora

By Savethewaves at 7:17pm on 19th Oct, 2007

"Chasing Dora" is the story of three California surfers who decided to bring to life an epic challenge thrown down by one of surfing's greatest stylists, the renowned maverick, Miki Dora, who died in 2002 at age 67.

Chasing Dora(from the Culture gallery)

Dora was one of the sport's most iconic figures. He railed against the commercialization of surfing, yet endorsed one of the best-selling surfboard models of the mid-'60s surf boom; he decried competitive surfing, yet still chose to enter some, and floated schemes to promote others; he shunned publicity, yet managed to use the surf media to create an almost mythic persona for himself. "Chasing Dora" takes on one of his radical ideas-that the ultimate test of a truly great surfer would be in a contest for the longest wave ridden, on a self-made wooden board, with no equipment or accessories that stemmed from the industrial age-no plastics, no neoprene suits, no surf leashes.

The challenge took the film's stars, Robert "Wingnut" Weaver, Marc Andreini (local San Francisco surfer), and Mickey "The Mongoose" Mu-oz, halfway around the world to Jeffrey's Bay, South Africa, where they faced some of the largest swells of the year on their hand-made wood boards, wearing nothing but wool trunks and vests in frigid 50 degree water. But "Chasing Dora" is not just a film of retro adventure. By a fortunate coincidence, the crew arrived at Jeffrey's Bay just after a top-flight World Championship Tour event and many of the pro surfers had stuck around to enjoy free surfing in the fantastic surf conditions. Amazing contemporary action from World Champions Kelly Slater and Andy Irons stands in stark contrast to Dora's anachronistic challenge.

"Chasing Dora" is a film by TJ Barrack and Wes Brown, who is the grandson of Bruce Brown, whose mid-'60s movie "The Endless Summer" remains the most successful surf film of all time. Wes Brown's father, Dana, is also an accomplished documentary surf filmmaker, best known for his 2003 hit, "Step Into Liquid" and soon to be released "High Water" coming out summer/fall 2007. Chasing Dora has gone on to win many prestigious Film Festivals around the world.

Starring: Robert "Wingnut" Weaver, Marc Andreini, and Mickey Munoz
Director of Photography: Jeff Cunningham
Water Photography: Larry Haynes
Associate Producer and Music Supervisor: Jason Annis
Music: Danny Saber

Some excellent clips of the 'da cat' himself surfing


http://youtube.com/watch?v=Xji7ulSLtiE


http://youtube.com/watch?v=WH3myrp6Cyw

Find out more about the film on the Save the Waves website

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