Secrets of Desert Point
In the early eighties, while sailing in crude leaky boats off remote Lombok island in Indonesia, young California surfer Bill Heick and his friends stumbled across the perfect wave….a pristine barreling left reeling endlessly and empty over a shallow, live-coral reef.
As treacherous as it was beautiful, this motley crew of modern-day surf argonauts named it “Desert Point” for its dry forbidding nature. These pioneers kept their treasure off the map for more than a decade and made it their life’s mission to surf uncrowded Desert Point at the highest level possible…no matter the cost. But Paradise comes at a price… a constant balancing act between the surfing dream and the very real possibility of injury, armed robbery, maiming, and deadly cerebral malaria. And when exploration evolves into exploitation, there comes a point when the pioneers become the protectors.
Join us for a journey on one of the last great dirtbag adventures of the 20th Century…one passed through three generations. And learning that if want to keep paradise, you need to stand up for it.
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Ira OpperDirectorRaw Conversations, Surf Cult California, Ultimate Sessions, Fins, Kokua, Long Board TV, The Surfer's Journal, Powder TV, Surfer TV, Surfer Magazine TV, Legends of Malibu
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Steve BarilottiWriterMinds in the Water, 180° South, Wave of Compassion, Kokua
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Bill HeickProducerRiding Giants, Indonesian Dance Series
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Ira OpperProducerRaw Conversations, Surf Cult California, Ultimate Sessions, Fins, Kokua, Long Board TV, The Surfer's Journal, Powder TV, Surfer TV, Surfer Magazine TV, Legends of Malibu
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Bill HeickKey CastRiding Giants, Indonesian Dance Series
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William R. HeickKey CastIndonesian Dance Series, Voyage of the Phoenix, Blunden Harbour, Dances of the Kwakiutl
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Julian ClarkEditor
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Project Type:Documentary
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Genres:Adventure, Surf, Historical
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Runtime:44 minutes 55 seconds
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Completion Date:January 1, 2017
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:Indonesia, United States
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Language:English
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
A lifelong waverider, Ira Opper grew up in surfing Malibu as a young teen in the mid 1960s. Realizing early-on that he would need money to support his passion for surfing adventures he attended college at landlocked Arizona State University. With no waves to distract him Opper earned a BS in Broadcast Journalism.
With one eye through the viewfinder and the other on the horizon for approaching sets, Opper quickly found his niche in the then-infant cable TV industry creating unique lifestyle sports-programming that included Solo Sports, the world’s first cable TV surf series.
Since then Opper has traveled the globe documenting the best surfers riding the world’s most exotic postcard-worthy waves while creating award-winning films and TV series that include Surfer Magazine TV, The Surfer’s Journal TV, Longboard TV, FiNS, and Kokua with Jack Johnson for cable networks: ESPN, Prime Network, Outdoor Life Network, National Geographic Adventure, and Fox Sports. His achievements in the industry have earned him seven Emmy Awards as well as induction into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences Silver Circle.
In 1995 Ira founded Opper Sports Productions (OSP) —a 4k digital television productions, web development, and stock footage company. OSP maintains the world’s largest surfing film and video library. Ira is now steering his company into online video platform technology.