The Kona Surf Film Fest, nicknamed “KSFF,” officially started at 4pm on January 28th 2017. But It really started around March of last year. Email, email, email, art, venue, email. Security, musicians, films. Films, films, films. Email. What makes KSFF so special though, is that the people involved really come together like we are all working on the annual family backyard barbecue. It’ s very casual, very roots, and very awesome. Our island community is the reason we all put so much effort into this event. From the community, for the community. Starting from our title sponsor ALTRES, and listing off Hurley, Island Air, Primo Beer, Freesurf Mag, Kona Boys, the Wave 92fm, Kohanaiki, on through the long list of product sponsors, and add to that the amazing volunteers, security, audio visual crew, hotel staff, and the public – the cohesive factor is that everybody is super cool and down to help out a rad homegrown event.
For the first time ever, the festival sold out this year. Nearly 1,500 people put the Honu lawn at the Kona Beach Hotel at full capacity, and the Big Island surf community got cozy under the stars. The beers flowed as we listened to jams by Ron Artis & Thunderstorm, Moni, Lee and J, and Hualalai. Along with our 30+ local vendors, we had storyBOARDS painting amazing wall panel live art installations, pairing artists Justin Dryer and Eukaretz with kids from Ke Kula ‘ o ‘ Ehunuikaimalino and Konaweana schools. Shane Dorian, Ian Walsh, and the Goodwin Family all signed autographs for the groms. Filmmakers Ryan Moss and Etienne Aurelius both gave awesome speeches, and their films (the Aloha Project and Ulualoha, respectively) were epic.
KSFF is the world’s first and longest-running Surf Film Festival, but it still maintains the cool down-to-earth vibe that it had when we started. Local legends show up to mix with young shredders. Surfers, bodyboarders, and SUPers buy each other beers. Crews from all around the island showed up to support their west side Kona ohana, and the old and young alike get to take in the amazing filmmaking, art, music, and good vibes that make surf film festivals so special.
All that being said, it couldn’t be done without a long list of people. Massive thanks are owed to all the sponsors, the volunteers, and everybody who helped along the way. In fact, I wrote out a list of people to include as a direct thank you. It topped well over 100 names of family members, sponsors, vendors, professional surfers, filmmakers, and organizations in the local community who take on roles that range from helping us make silly promo videos to those who help us work toward running a zero-waste event. While that list is massive, each name, each group, and each piece of the surfing community it represents are all proof that the best way to throw a party for something we all love so much can and should take an entire island to make a reality. It’s one of the many things that makes surfing so great, and so worthy of celebrating with something as “simple” as a film festival.
