IF IN DOUBT PADDLE OUT - RAPTURE SURFCAMPS

SURREAL SHORT FILM “IF IN DOUBT PADDLE OUT” MOCKS HOLLYWOOD SURF MOVIES

Rapture Surfcamps and filmmaker Andrew Blackman team up for a comically surreal trip into the world of surfing. With deadpan humour, beautiful Scandinavian-style cinematography and poignant, dreamlike sequences, short film If in Doubt Paddle Out satirises Hollywood’s often-absurd portrayal of surf culture as embodied by Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 surf-thriller Point Break.
Shot on location in Ericeira, Portugal, World Surfing Reserve and home of Rapture Surfcamps, If in Doubt Paddle Out is a perfectly-timed sendup of the Keanu Reeves-Patrick Swayze cult classic, considering the impending release of its remake, which is set for December 25, 2015.
The film follows the journey of a physically impressive wannabe surfer named Thomas, played by musician Thomas Persson of the Danish band Vampire Blow — who incidentally provide much of the film’s groovy soundtrack. Thomas has the look, vocabulary and carefully studied demeanour of the stereotypical “surf mystic”, but is clueless when it comes to actual surfing.
An avid surfer himself, Copenhagen-based Kiwi director Blackman makes no bones about his feelings concerning Tinseltown’s depiction of surf culture. He created Thomas to be “so profoundly phoney that all of his characteristics and traits are stolen”.
Yet there is sweet redemption — and genuine friendship — for Thomas. And this is where Rapture Surfcamps comes in, showing that surf reality is far more fun and gratifying than surf fiction could ever be.