BBFF2022 Meet the Filmmaker: Richard Yelland
Birth of The Endless Summer
Richard Yelland gives us a dynamic fascinating recount and journey that follows Californian surf pioneer, Dick Metz, as he vagabonds the globe from 1958-1961-revealing the untold story behind one of the most watched and beloved documentaries of all time, The Endless Summer.
We had a chat to Richard Yelland about his journey of searching for amazing stories that haven’t been told and the creation behind the ‘Birth of the Endless Summer’.
Screening at Byron Theatre
Saturday 22 October at 7:30pm
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Screening at Palace Cinemas Byron Bay
Sunday 30 October at 12:30pm
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Where was the story derived from that you wanted to address in your film?
When iconic surf filmmaker Bruce Brown passed away in December of 2017, I witnessed an outpouring of tributes coming from every generation. It was at that moment I realized that he was the one person that everyone, young and old, could agree on as having lived an inspirational and important life. A life that he was able to translate through one of the most watched and beloved documentaries of all times, The Endless Summer--a film the New Yorker called, "A perfect movie." Through my work on the documentary 12 Miles North: The Nick Gabaldon Story, I had been introduced Dick Metz and the Surfing Heritage & Culture Center that he founded. I heard that Dick had taken a wild, around-the-world tour from 1958-1961 that I realized could have been Bruce's inspiration for making The Endless Summer. When I came to learn that it was true, I had that "a ha" moment that Dick's story would be an amazing tribute to Bruce Brown. It was just a few weeks after Bruce had passed away that I realized that I had a responsibility tell this untold story behind The Endless Summer.
What aspect of your film is the most important for you for the audience to take home?
The key take away is pursue your passion, go after your dream and find those important lifelong relationships with people. That all of that is so much more important that a lot of what our society values in the present day. The digital age gets us chasing the flavor of the moment and this story hopefully illustrates and inspires us to live deeper lives. We have been getting that feedback from audiences young and old at our film festival screenings to date.
What was the process of working with Dick Metz and establishing trust as he allowed you to retrace the steps of his journey?
Dick Metz is finally being realized as the biggest living legend in the sport of surfing - perhaps the most important person the sport has ever seen. He had a hand literally in every aspect of the growth the sport, from the evolution of boards from wood to foam to opening the world's first surf shops with Hobie Alter - Dick opened Hawaii's very first retail surf outlet in Honolulu. Dick is a lifelong traveler and seeker - he has an undying curiosity and is a master storyteller. The idea of participating in a documentary of his life story was a perfect fit for him. While it wasn't easy at first to convince a 90-year old to travel with us back to South Africa and retrace the steps of his original journey, once he agreed he was 100 percent all-in. He packed a small back pack and was in full travel mode. He covered every inch of the journey -- giving us his full energy and attention. His ability to show up and be there for everything and tell his stories on camera in a way that would capture audiences was an absolute gift to this documentary and anyone who watches it.
Have you always wanted to be a filmmaker?
I was a writer in advertising and learned filmmaking through the directors we hired to shoot the commercials that I wrote. I started messing around with super 8 film and started directing commercials. I founded my company Curtis Birch as more a creative agency but got involved with the founding of an organization called They Will Surf Again, which raised money for ocean-related spinal cord injuries. We started a program with the Life Rolls On Foundation which took people with spinal cord injuries surfing. I met the director of the Sundance Institute back in 2008 or so and she thought it might mack a good documentary film. That was the beginning of my first documentary short, "Floating: The Nathan Gocke Story" and from there I've now finished around a dozen shorts and I am onto my 5th feature documentary project, this one, Birth of The Endless Summer: Discovery of Cape St. Francis, being my fourth.
What is an important experience for you that you will take away from the process of making this documentary?
The greatest opportunity making this film was getting to travel to South Africa with Dick Metz and relive his original journey there and capture this experience on camera. South Africa is an incredibly beautiful place with a rich African history - and the most amazing world class surf. Because Dick is seen as a hero in South Africa (more so than in the USA) for being responsible for the seminal chapter the development of South African surfing, the South Africans treated us so well, like family. What an incredible time!
What were some unique challenges you faced when making or developing this documentary?
The pandemic put a wrench in our film festival and release plans so we spent over a year more than we would have on post, graphics and animation. As a result, the film improved so much. While stretching the timeline was a big challenge in that it cost us more, the benefit not rushing this film out the door outweighed any difficulties we might have experienced. We dug deeper into the archival film and photographs to make sure we had all of the right b roll. We spent extra time on the DaVinci getting all the old footage revitalized, which allowed the color correction process to bring all of the film's elements into a cohesive whole. We were also able go further on curating the sound track, which I'm really proud of.
How valuable to you are the crew you choose to have in order to bring such a significant story to life?
We had an amazing illustrator join us Brian Rea, known for his column in the New York Times called "Modern Love". Brian is a close personal friend from my years in New York City so I was so stoked that he wanted to join the project. Having him contribute his quirky hand drawn style, typographic wit, intelligence and sense of humor to the project via the animations seen in the film was a true gift to the story.
What is the best piece of advice you can give to all aspiring filmmakers?
Pursue every project -shoot all the time - and make sure you plan on finishing whatever you start. More than half the battle is knowing how to follow through and finish. Also be as nice as you possibly can because it's a very small business.
What's next for you in the future?
I am working an untold Holocaust story, The Garden Bridge, a feature film that focuses on a group of Jewish exile musicians who were among a community of over 20,0000 Jewish refugees who found a safe harbor in Shanghai, China. There they shared the art of classical music--via the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra and Shanghai Conservatory--with the Chinese people, who became feverishly passionate about it. Our film is the first story to link these Jewish Holocaust survivors to the Chinese classical music movement that's now over 60 million performers strong.
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