Surfing Legend Sam Cook Searches for Definitive Proof that Surfing is an Indigenous African Sport
Film Screens at 1:00pm on Sunday, April 15th at the Aero Theater, Malibu
Malibu, CA – April 6, 2007 – The Lost Wave: An African Surf Story will make its world premiere while screening in competition at the Malibu International Film Festival. VOOM HD Networks’ RUSH HD – the nation’s first high-definition channel dedicated to capturing life on the edge with the adrenaline junkies of adventure sports – produced this original film which is both a personal journey for renowned surf journalist, explorer and filmmaker Sam George, and an attempt to rewrite surfing’s historical timeline and establish proof that the “Sport of Kings” exists as an indigenous part of African culture. The film screens at 1:00pm on Sunday, April 15th, 2007 at the Aero Theater (1328 Montana Avenue at 14th Street, Santa Monica, California).
The sport of surfing has long been associated with Polynesia, having been first described by Europeans as far back as 1777, during Captain James Cook’s epic voyage of discovery throughout the Pacific. However, the question has been asked, what had been happening in the waves on other shores, with older coastal cultures?
To find the answer, Sam George-co-writer of the hit documentary Riding With Giants, editor of Surfer Magazine, and longtime surf explorer-leads the first-of-its-kind surfari. The Lost Wave documents the quest undertaken by George and a team of adventurers, as they travel to the wild coast of the Dark Continent to examine the origins of West African wave-riding. The Lost Wave represents a new sort of surf trip in which the riding of waves is portrayed in a broader context than the mere pursuit of fun.
Accompanied by two champion surfers, Holly Beck and Joe Curren, the team travels to the island of Sao Tome, off the coast of Gabon, in Central West Africa. It was here that, five years before, George had encountered a small village of African fisherman who enjoyed a thriving surfing culture, despite having rarely seen a white man and never a contemporary surfer. The goal of this return voyage is to gauge the effect the previous visit had had on this indigenous surf scene, and to try to discover how long these villagers had been playing in the waves on their goffe wood rafts.
The film is narrated by Sal Masakela, (X Games anchor, E! reporter and lifelong surfer) shot entirely in high definition and features indigenous Sao Tome music as well as a lush, all-original score. The Lost Wave was produced by Paul Taublieb and Media X International, Inc. (MXi)., directed and written by Taublieb, Sam George and Sam Boyer, with executive producers Mark DeAngelis and Rob Faris of RUSH HD, and consulting producer Michael Lythcott of VAS Entertainment.
In English. 1080i High Definition. 58 mins. Color. USA.
The Lost Wave will make its high-definition television debut on VOOM ‘s RUSH HD channel on Monday, September 5, 2007 at 10:00pm ET. RUSH HD redefines the action genre both technically and creatively. With programs focusing on the world’s best athletes across a wide range of sports, RUSH HD gives viewers the ultimate home entertainment and edge-of-the-seat experience. RUSH HD is one of the VOOM HD Networks, the critically acclaimed collection of 15 high-definition channels, available nationwide on DISH Network. VOOM’s programs are created especially to maximize the visual power and beauty of the high-definition medium, and are recorded with the full force of Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.
About VOOM HD Networks
Rainbow’s VOOM HD Networks (www.voom.com) comprise the world’s largest suite of high-definition content for distribution through satellite and cable operators. With programming in categories as diverse as sports, movies, fashion, music and art, the VOOM HD Networks are available in the U.S. on Echostar’s DISH Network. The 24/7 linear VOOM HD channel is available globally. It is currently distributed in Scandinavia, Estonia and Latvia, and will soon debut in Asia. Similarly, select VOOM HD programming is available worldwide and has been licensed to viewers in more than 50 countries. Building on Rainbow’s history of original programming innovation, VOOM HD was developed to meet the growing worldwide demand for quality high-definition programming.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform programming for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, fuse, IFC, WE tv, Rainbow Sports Networks managed FSN Bay Area and FSN New England, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. The company also manages Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales division, and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.
For information about tickets to the screening of The Lost Wave please visit www.malibufilmfestival.com.
For further information about MXi, please go to www.mediax.tv.
For further information about VAS Entertainment, please go to www.vasentertainment.com.