Three Of Today's Best Surfers Hit The Screen In One Epic, Can't-Miss Film
In a world where quick clips on Instagram and YouTube have largely replaced the surf movie experience, the new film "Trilogy: New Film" is here to put surfers back in the seats and give them reason to pause and watch.
Starring Griffin Colapinto and Ethan Ewing, who competed against one another at the 2023 WSL Finals and will both appear in the 2024 Olympics, along with Hawaii's Seth Moniz, the talent on screen is not to be denied. Written and directed by Andrew Mackenzie and executive produced by Taylor Steele, "Trilogy" is a beautifully rendered study in modern, state-of-the-art, high performance surfing. Yes, there are important, character-building storylines, but the pure surfing and exquisite cinematography take center stage.
Premiering at the recent Coast Film and Music Festival in Laguna Beach, the film's worldwide premieres won't hit mass audiences until January 2024. If you're looking to start your New Year with an injection of surf stoke, keep an eye out for premiere dates as this is one surf movie you're not going to want to miss. The audience at the Coast screening was transfixed on the screen from establishing shots to rolling credits.
“So proud of this, it's been a long time in the works but it turned out super sick,” said Colapinto, who was on hand in Laguna with his all-star San Clemente entourage (more on them another time).
Three years in the make, “it’s been a crazy process, but the film is amazing. I think career-defining parts will come out of this,” explains Enich Harris, who earned production credits on the project. “We did trips to Peru, Indo and a few other spots. Beyond the surfing, Taylor also does an amazing job telling the stories about who these surfers are.”
“I think people will leave this film with a better appreciation for who these surfers are and the relationships they have with one another. At the end of the day, it’s about three friends going surfing together and looking up to their heroes,” Harris continues.
Central to the new “Trilogy” film is the veneration for Andy, Joel and Taj. In 2007, the three surfers anchored the Billabong team and had a stranglehold over the Championship Tour rankings. Andy was raw and relentless, Joel as smooth as they come, while Taj was the consummate innovator. They inspired countless surfers of the era with their competitive fervor and free surf mastery, including then-groms Griffin, Ethan and Seth.
With more than 25 years of writing about surfing, the ocean and action sports, Jake Howard continues to share stories, profiles and issues that shape the surfing world. One of the premier subject-matter experts in the field today, he's savvy in the ways of print, digital and social media, his breadth of work is expansive. Getting his start writing Surfline surf reports and recording the phone reports for 976-SURF in the late '90s, Jake served as the managing editor for Surfer Magazine in the early 2000s before moving on to launch RedBullSurfing.com and cover surfing for ESPN and the X Games. Over the years, Jake has also enjoyed time behind the edit desk at The Surfer's Journal, as well as the World Surf League, where he worked as the Senior Editor for a number of years. Beyond producing editorial content, Jake has served as a digital marketer and copywriter for iconic surf brands such as Quiksilver, Roxy and Rip Curl. Writing thousands of pages of copy for Surfline, he has deep SEO experience as well. The surf columnist for the San Clemente Times, Jake continues to dedicate himself to the culture and history of the sport through his involvement with the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente.