It’s a surfers dream, to drop everything, quit your job and book a one way ticket to the land of Bintangs and barrels with a couple of your buddies. Map out the world class spots you’d seen your heroes surf time and time again in your favourite surf movies and magazines, with nothing on your mind except how barrelled you’re going to get at your next stop.
For me, this was Bruce Irons at Pitstops in Taylor Steele’s Momentum: Under The Influence. Fast forward 15 years and I’m on surf charter in the Mentawais on a mission to find the fun, rip-able wave i’d mind surfed over and over for a decade and a half.
South To Sian is the type of movie to give you that stoke, The film could be your version of Momentum, Dustin Humphrey could be your Taylor Steele, Harrison Roach could be your Bruce Irons and Nias could be your Pitstops – Here are 5 more reasons you need to watch this movie.
The Adventure
What began as a three-month trip to a collection of surf breaks off the beaten track turned into a two-year odyssey of exploration for Deus team riders and childhood buddies Harrison Roach and Zye Norris – a 4,000km two-wheeled, single-finned escape from the the real-world, taking us from East Nusa Tengerra to North Sumatra to some of the finest waves to surf and mountains to ride that Indonesia has on offer.
South To Sian takes Harry and Zye from surf breaks to mountains, boards to bikes and everywhere in between with the bare essentials jammed into the back of their trusty beaten up 1970’s Land Rover. Gone are the days of empty Indonesian lineups and hidden gems although pulling up to some of the countries best kept secrets isn’t rare in the film, the boys also didn’t shy away from the spots well pursued.
“We weren’t about to avoid some of the world’s best waves just because there’d be people there or someone had done it before us” Said Harrison
The poetic narration of Harrison Roach will bring you along in the passengers seat for this epic journey of a lifetime. South To Sian really is the ultimate Indonesian road trip – the holy grail for any travelling surfer in the world, if this movie doesn’t make you want to quit your day job and hunt perfect barrels with your buddies, you aren’t a surfer.
The Waves
Exactly what you’d expect and more from a six month trip across the Indonesian Archipelago. Two foot peelers that run along a sand bottom point to 10 foot dreamy, hollow tubes without a single drop of water out of place and all kinds of peaks, reefs and beachies – this film is jammed packed full of Indonesian magic.
Harrison, Zye and friends share more barrels throughout the film than a seasoned pro on tour. From Sumbawa to Nias, Bali to Java and a few cheeky secret spots in between – this 52 minute visual feast of pure perfection and fun will have you flicking play and watching all over again.
The Boards
If multi-board riding is your dig then you’re in for a real treat, watch Single-fins, duo-fins, tre-fins, quad-fins, quin-fins and even no fins trim and belt down the line of the smorgasbord of waves for every board type. Fishes, mid-lengths, standards and longboards – the Deus board shapers threw everything at this dream quiver. If you’re one for the smell of fibreglass and foam, you’re one for South To Sian.
‘We ended up with close to twenty boards that ranged in size from 4’11 to 10’0. A little over the top we admit, but when you can, why not?” Said Harrison
The Cinematography
Dustin Humphrey’s collaborative efforts with award winning surf film director, Taylor Steele have transformed him from a surf photographer to a highly regarded producer, creative director, cinematographer and all round master lensman.
Dustin’s magic eye for photography translates incredibly well through film with a helping hand of the backdrop of Indonesian sunsets, the lines and landscape of bright green Balinese rice fields, the crystal clear Indian Ocean and the ancient volcanic terrain with complements from super slow-mo RED epic cameras and drones.
Dustin captures the incredible journey perfectly through his choice of camera angles, following Harrison and Zye above, beside and beyond from destination to destination, each scene with new angles than the last.
The Soundtrack
Sit back and chill to an eclectic mix of alternative and indie rock with a touch of mellowcore and dream pop, handpicked by Dustin Humphrey and editor, Lincoln Caplice. Each track goes hand-in-hand with the section it’s chopped to – mellow longboard sessions with Tracy Bryant to slow-mo drone shots with Beach House and dreamy sunset sessions with Alt-J.
South To Sian has the perfect soundtrack to flick on and cruise to whilst day dreaming of empty Indonesian line ups and sharing tubes with your buddies.
Wrap your ears around a sample of the South To Sian soundtrack.
Photo credits: Woody Gooch & Anthony Dodds
Where can you watch South To Sian immediately you ask? Exclusively, right here on Garage:
