THE O’NEILL AOTEAROA SURF FILM FESTIVAL (ASFF) ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL SELECTION AND AWARD WINNING FILMS FOR 2014

The OʼNeill Aotearoa Surf Film Festival (ASFF) is proud to present the official selection and award winning films for the second year of the festival. The Official Award Winning films for 2014 for outstanding work in both feature and short film, cinematography, documentary and soundtrack have finally been decided. After two weeks of deliberation our screening panel members Craig Levers, Andrew McAlpine, Gavin Bisman and Danny Clayton worked their way through the 36 submissions. The following films are now:

Best Feature Film The Salt Trail (United Kingdom)
Best Short Film Abyss (Australia)
Best Cinematography The Salt Trail (United Kingdom)
Best Documentary Serendipity (Australia)
Best Soundtrack The Salt Trail (United Kingdom)
Best NZ Film 45ºSouth – Jereme Aubertin/Damon Meade (NZ)

Official Selection Feature Films

The Salt Trail (United Kingdom) Bella Vita (Italy)
Tierras Lejanas (Chile) Serendipity (Australia)
3 Killas Y Un 1 Kiwi (Venezuela)
Good Morning Miyazaki (Japan/Canada)

Official Selection Short Films

Abyss (Australia)
Russia (USA)
45ºSouth (New Zealand)
Bundjalung (Brazil)
Party Mix (USA)
Fortune Wild (Canada)
Fv25 (UK)
Species Dysmorphia (New Zealand)
Setting Sunsets (USA)
Concept (Brazil)
Soul of A Carnation: Heart Of A Surfer (Portugal) Brainwashed (New Zealand)

Awards are still available for the Surfers Choice Feature and Short Film, which will be decided by an online poll throughout the duration of the festival.

“We are really pleased with both the amount of submissions and caliber of the films submitted for the second year of the festival” Said festival director Nick Stevenson. “All of the selected feature films have never been screened in New Zealand so we are excited to be able to bring these to NZ audiences for the first time. Its also been great to see some incredible kiwi films come through from previous entrant Ted Whittaker, as well as Nick Herd, Jereme Aubertin and Damon Meade. Hopefully ASFF can help bring future kiwi talent and give them an outlet to show their films. This year was a pretty major clean sweep for “The Salt Trail” by British filmmaker Mark Waters who took out Best Feature, Best Soundtrack and Best Cinematography. We have an exceptional line up for this year that should have something for everyone, backed again by our committed partners including our naming partner OʼNeill. We are looking forward to sharing the films with surfers across New Zealand”.

“OʼNeill New Zealand is proud to collaborate and partner up with Nick Stevensonʼs vision for the second consecutive year. Said OʼNeill NZ General Manager Jason Falconridge. “With the introduction of outdoor screenings and key locations this event is a must for your calendar to not miss. These screenings are to collectively showcase some amazing talent portraying the uniqueness of what surfing is all about. They are part and parcel of the fundamental values of what our brand stands for. To collectively exhibit surfing in its entirety in so many ways will effectively enlighten an array of audiences. We congratulate all finalized submissions and award winning films. We look forward to the screenings nationwide throughout the duration of the festival.”

About the Festival.

The OʼNeill Aotearoa Surf Film Festival will kick off on Wednesday March 12th at Bay City Cinemas, Mount Maunganui in sunny Bay Of Plenty. The festival will run for 3 nights in Mount Maunganui showcasing all of the official selection and award winning films. The festival will then hit the road with a selection of the award winning films for a 7-week coastal tour of the beach towns and coastal cities of New Zealand. Tickets and details of all films in the lineup are now available online directly at www.asff.co.nz and limited door sales on each night.

Festival Partners
Our naming partner OʼNeill
Our tour partners: Corona, Skinnies,
Media Partners: Damaged Goods Zine, Bay Of Plenty Times
Our Supporting Partners: Bluebridge, Trout Valley, Poler Stuff

Check out the ASFF and Twitter pages for all festival announcements.

We hope to see you all at the festival!
The O’Neill Aotearoa Surf Film Festival is the first dedicated surf film competition in New Zealand held in March 2014. The festival will run in true kiwi style, taking a curated selection of international surf feature films, documentaries and short films on a summer roadtrip to coastal towns celebrating the best of surf culture, surf cinema and our connection with the environment. www.asff.co.nz