Musica Surfica

'Musica Surfica' looks at the art of surfing in new ways, reminding us of the rewards of risk in learning new things. Surfer Richard Tognetti, of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, with his friend, surfing provocateur Derek Hynd, asked a diverse group of surfers, including former world champion Tom Carroll and master shaper Tom Wegener, to join them on remote King Island at the edge of the Southern Ocean, to surf without fins. Some of the boards were ancient Hawaiian designs, while others were modern, often successful attempts to design a finless board. While there the surfer members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, along with folk musicians Mike Kerin and Danny Spooner, performed for the locals and this music, of Bach, Pagannini and others, forms the soundtrack to this unusual film. Worth noting too is that Richard plays on a Guarneri del Gesu 'Carrodus' violin, one of the finest instruments in existence. To see it being played in an old abandoned diary is a unique sight indeed. The combined result is a film that looks at the art of surfing in new ways, reminding us of the rewards of risk in learning new things, and reminding us too of why we surf: for fun.