Surf Europe went over to the Quiksilver store on Regent Street, London to catch up with big wave legend Gabe Davies of Waveriders fame. Lauren Davies, co-writer of the award-winning Waveriders, and wife of Gabe, was also present to give us the latest on the follow up film. Check out the trailer then watch the interview. Transcript follows.

Click PART 1 and PART 2 for the previous installments.

Trailer:

Waveriders Trailer from Waveriders on Vimeo.

Part 3

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SE: What advice would you give to an aspiring filmmaker?
Lauren: Just have faith in your project, we never thought this would go as big as it has done. Whether you’re writing a book or a film, have faith in it. All writers doubt themselves all the way through, I still do, so sit down, have a really good idea of your story and sort your finances.

SE: Did you at any point in the film process worry about Gabe’s safety, is that something that bothers you?
Lauren: Yeah, I mean I’ve watched him surf Waimea and I’ve watched him surf big waves all over the world and I just know that he’s capable of doing it, but when it came down to this one we didn’t really know how big it was until they were out there. We knew it was really big but we didn’t know the scale until they were out there, and Gabe was the first up and I did burst into tears because it was frightening. It was huge and it was dark, and it was loud and scary and the first time they’d done it that big out there.

SE: But you nailed it right?
Gabe: I didn’t fall off thank god. We had a lot of good back up, that was one thing the film brought to it. We had a lot of safety people out there which gives you a lot of confidence.

SE: There’s nothing you can wear, you don’t get body armour in surfing, without looking like a massive loser.
Gabe: The BBC person was saying, can we put a lifeguard on the cliff, but we’re like a mile away. There’s not much she can do really no matter what lifeguard you are.
Lauren: They were very brave. Our photographer, Mickey Smith swam out through the waves to get the shots of Gabe so that was pretty heroic. Every time they tow in, they all sit down and make a plan and make a map of the area, where they’re coming in, where they’re exiting.

SE: What are your plans? You mentioned a new film, Scotland that we’re going to be working on quite soon.
Lauren: I’ve just written a film for Quiksilver, I’ve written a book and a screenplay, and we’d all like to do the next Waveriders as well.
Gabe: Yeah this started off as a home grown project, and to get from home grown to cinema, award-winning, Dublin Film Festival…

SE: It’s pretty major, I mean I mentioned it to my mum the other day and she said “Oh I saw that on the tele the other day” and my mum’s 70 so for someone like that to have heard of it…
Gabe: Yeah it’s rare for a home grown project to do so well.