2007 SURFER POLL
Movie Award Winners

Julian Wilson, Clay Marzo, Jeremy Flores, Dane Reynolds, and the rest of the crew blew too many minds not to take home the hardware.

Movie Of The Year: Young Guns 3
The films nominated here were diverse—a documentary, one surfer’s signature film, an achingly beautiful and thoughtful travelogue, and two high-impact action flicks—and when it came time to cull through that diversity, it wasn’t easy. But in the end, we stuck to a mantra that’s treated us well when judging surf films. It goes like this: If a flick makes you want to go surf, it’s good. If a flick makes you want to go surf right now, and surf better than you ever have before, it’s really good. And if a flick delivers a message that makes you want to surf better than you ever have before, and it’s coupled with excellent production, cutting edge action, and an solid soundtrack, it’s a winner. Every time. Officially announcing the unqualified arrival of a new generation and a new way of approaching waves, Young Guns 3 had all the elements necessary in a true movie of the year. This is one we’ll be talking about 10 years from now.

Heavy Water: Laurie Towner / Frothing
Clawing down the face of a massive Shipstern’s beast—as Andy and Parko looked on—Laurie Towner landed on the cover of SURFER and on the radar of the rest of the surf world with one astounding, paddle-powered act of bravado. But as his segment in Frothing proved, this wasn’t the only heavy wave Towner caught during the hair-raising session that launched his career.

Worst Wipeout: Richie Vas / Bra Boys
When a guy’s caught on tape taking a doughnut over dry rocks, then gets speared with his board and comes in with a bloody hole in his neck that looks more like a ragged tracheotomy than a wipeout wound, it makes the decision easy.

Most Radical Maneuver: Eric Geiselman / All In The Family
This year, there were so many jaw-dropping, highflying, technical maneuvers caught on film that it was tough to narrow this category down. But Eric Geiselman’s big, critical Kurrupt took the win in a very tight race.

Best Tube: Bobby Martinez / Mixed Tape
Bobby pulls in and goes long. Really, really long, multiple times, some deeper than others, on a wave that’s really, really perfect. All factors of tube riding are considered here, length, depth, severity. Bobby’s had the magic combination.

Best Performance By A Male: Julian Wilson / Young Guns 3
The level of performance being reached these days always makes choosing a winner in this category tough. Taj, Andy, Bobby, and Dane all turned in ridiculously solid parts. But the energy of Julian’s segment and his lofty above the lip campaign gave him the edge. The Young Guns crew is taking technical, above-the-lip surfing to the next level, and this year Julian went more places than the rest.

Best Performance By A Female: Carissa Moore / Young Guns 3
Like Julian, Carissa’s part in the extras section of Young Guns 3 shows a young surfer pushing performance to levels previously unseen. Unlike Julian, she appeared to be light-years ahead of the other nominees. Congrats to the youngest Best Performance winner in the history of the video awards.

Best Documentary: Bra Boys
Murder, courtroom drama, and the underbelly of inner city life set against a backdrop of heart-pounding surf. Toss in street fighting, a few heavy wipeouts, a couple moments to tug at the heartstrings and you’ve got a documentary that watches like it was written in Hollywood.

Best Cinematography: Down The Barrel
The over-the-shoulder shot of Parko weaving through a tube, almond-eye-exit spinning ahead, was almost enough to win this category on its own. But that was just one moment in a film with a wide range of beautiful land and water footage. Shot by some of the world’s best surf motion photographers on some of the best equipment available, Down The Barrel had every element necessary to deliver a visually stunning film, giving it the edge in a category loaded with artfully shot imagery.