Image Credit DJ Struntz. Surfers in the surf film "Strange Rumblings in Shangri La," walk past small icebergs on the coast of Iceland.
The below clip is from the movie Strange Rumblings in Shangri La. The movie won best picture of 2014 at the Surfer Poll awards. This is the Iceland feature of the movie.
In an interview with Paste Magazine, Director Joe G reflects on the challenges and rewards of filming surfers in Iceland.
Paste: There was a piece that you wrote for Bali Belly, where you talked about shooting in film. You wrote, “Life isn’t perfect and I love the thrill of not knowing exactly what’s going to happen with my film.” Were there any major surprises when you started developing the film for Shangri-La?
Joe G: There were! We got off to a pretty crazy start. The first trip we went on was to Iceland. We did that one first because we knew it would probably be the hardest, as far as getting good surf. It’s something people have tried to do for years and years. It’s a very difficult place and, obviously, it’s really cold and relatively unexplored. But it was this really incredible adventure. And we finally found this spot, at the foot of a glacier, and there were literally icebergs in the water. But the downdrafts that were coming off of the glaciers were so cold we didn’t realize it. The ambient air temperatures were okay, but the downdrafts actually froze my camera!
Paste: Wow.
Joe G: There weren’t, like, icicles on it, but it was just so cold it contracted the metal, and pulled the film away from the gate. So I shot a whole roll of film in this surreal, beautiful place, and I had no idea while we were shooting. But, we even ended up using one of those shots in the film—it’s kind of fuzzy and grainy. It’s one of those things where, the shots we get are so amazing and beautiful, and the ones you lose are kind of heartbreaking. But I still think it’s worth it—not having everything buttoned up and perfect.
Enjoy!
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