Ireland. El Salvador. West Africa. France. What do these global hot spots have in common? Waves, baby, waves. In 1972, surfers Craig Peterson and Kevin Naughton circumnavigated the globe to seek out perfect spots—not so much an endless summer as a monstrous compendium. They chronicled their adventures in a series of columns in Surfer magazine. Years later, after meeting Peterson at a house party in Laguna Beach, film student Greg Schell decided to compile their footage, notes and photographs into a 60-minute documentary, The Far Shore. For his Masters thesis. Imagine the scene—”Yo, prof, here's the deal: I'm going to do a documentary . . . about surfing.” Schell first had to convince a panel of teachers his project had academic merit; he finished the film in December 2003 for an estimated $100,000.
Join Peterson, Naughton and Schell for a Laguna Beach Surfrider screening of The Far Shore (which Anthony Pignataro wrote about in “A Shore Once Far,” June 12, 2003 . . . and Paul Holmes wrote about Peterson and Naughton in our very first year, “Surfin' Safari,” Nov. 24, 1995). Nalu's Island Grill promises support, and there'll be a live raffle for goodies from Quiksilver, Roxy, Von Zipper and others. A ticket stub gains you free entry to the after-party at Ocean Avenue Brewery, featuring music from the Ken Garcia Band. Tickets may be $10, but proceeds benefit the Save Trestles campaign to stop the Foothill-South (241) toll road. The project is not popular with surfers; the sketchier, die-hard ones are muttering threats of vehicular violence to road-building equipment. If construction is allowed to begin, San Onofre may become the next global hot spot for both waves and armed conflict.
Watch The Far Shore at the Laguna Beach Cinema, 456 Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 493-5019. Wed., 7-9 p.m. $10 (all proceeds to Surfrider); After-party at Ocean Avenue Brewery, 237 Ocean Ave., Laguna Beach. 9 p.m.-close. Free entry with movie ticket stub.
