Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch is the surfing world’s equivalent of the black monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Seeing the wave pool for the first time is like seeing a UFO, ever: it just doesn’t quite make sense. A perfect wall of water rising from the desert browns of Lemoore, California…it takes a minute for the scene to compute.
Director Daniel Askill, known for his post-postmodern aesthetic and award-winning collaborations with the likes of Sia, had never created a surf-film before. Nor had Stephanie Gilmore, the seven-time World Surf League Champion and veteran of traditional surf cinema, ever paddled such experimental waters. They enlisted renowned composer Aska Matsumiya to score the film and invited world-class surfers Coco Ho and Leah Dawson to join in on the shoot.
Behind the scenes with Daniel Askill and crew.