STACY PERALTA – FILMMAKING WORKSHOP
Stacy Peralta’s a former pro surfer and pro skater, pioneer, industry icon and one of the most influential skateboarders of all time, he’s also a multi award winning documentary filmmaker.
Filmmaking Workshop: In Conversation With Director Stacy Peralta – SOLD OUT!
Stacy Peralta is a former pro surfer and pro skater, pioneer, industry icon, entrepreneur and one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. He’s a multi award winning documentary filmmaker. His documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys won Best Director Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
In celebration of the UK Premiere of his latest film ‘The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez’ we were honoured to host a very special, ‘Filmmaking Workshop: Stacy Peralta In Conversation’. The workshop was packed to the rafters with skaters, surfers, story teller and filmmakers and proved to be an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity for the assembled audience to ask the critically acclaimed Director the real, burning questions exploring everything from the creative journey to the dark art of funding, distribution and beyond. As Stacy explained, this two-way conversation was set to, ‘demythologise the mystery of filmmaking’.
Huge thanks to our Friends at Patagonia for making the workshop possible and to Stacy for his generosity, time, candour, stories and advice.
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3 to see from Stacy Peralta’s highlights reel
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Stacy Peralta and the “Bertleman Turn,” the signature Z-Boys manoeuver derived from the famous Hawaiian surfer Larry Bertleman.
Stacy Peralta is, well, where to begin? He’s a former pro surfer and pro skater, part of the iconic Zephyr Team of 1970’s California. He’s a pioneer, cultural barometer, industry icon, entrepreneur and one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. He set the template and his brand Powell Peralta spawned The Bones Brigade – a skate team which included the likes of Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero and Rodney Mullen. In the early 80’s he co-conceived and created ‘The Bones Brigade Video Show,’ which would revolutionise the way we engage with surf, skate and snow culture in our homes and capture the attention of Hollywood. He’s also a multi award winning documentary filmmaker. The secret of his success? “I basically make films that I’m interested in seeing,” he explains. His first feature documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys won him the Best Director Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Dogtown & Z Boys – 2001
Stacy Peralta’s first feature documentary, ‘Dogtown & Z-Boys’ tells the story of the trailblazing Zephyr skate and surf crew who redefined the subculture of 1970’s southern California, of which Stacy was a central figure. This must-see film brings together commentary and insight from a who’s who of skate culture, iconic images from artist and cultural commentator Craig Stecyk III, narration from Sean Penn and a killer sound track featuring everyone from Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young and David Bowie to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Aerosmith. Vans produced it, “They gave us the freedom to make the film and let the film be what it wanted to be,” explained Peralta in an interview with Steve Olson for Juice Magazine. It scooped a slew of awards including Best Director and Audience Award at Sundance – the festival at which the film had opened.
The Bones Brigade Video Show – 1984
“The Bones Brigade Video Show,” was co-conceived, filmed, directed and edited by Peralta. It’s a 35-minute-long showcase of super slow-mo tricks, “new moves” and freestyles from the likes of Hawk and Lance Mountain, but it’s so much more. A happy confluence of a creative mind, an epic skate crew, the dawning of cheap video equipment to document it all and a sudden explosion in VCR sales, meant this first straight-to-video action sports movie, destined to be played in handful of skate shops, made its way into some 30,000 living rooms in the space of a year. In that moment this humble skate movie, combined with some Malcom Gladwell-esq timing, revolutionised the way we engage with surf, skate and snow culture – it was suddenly right there, in our homes and we could pause, rewind and rewatch every trick, every moment. Powell Peralta released all of their back catalogue free to watch including their cult classic ‘In Search of Animal Chin’.
Riding Giants – 2004
The first documentary to open Sundance and featuring the likes of Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, Laird Hamilton the film traces the origins of surfing and the art of big wave riding, and brought surfing back into the main stream consciousness. A now trade mark killer sound track inc. heavy hitters Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, David Bowie etc, combined with archive footage and stills plus interviews meant it hit the spot in the core and mainstream.
The multi award winning Dogtown and Z-Boys Dir. Stacy Peralta set the stage for what was to come.
“It was easier for me to get Riding Giants approved and get a budget behind it because I had a track record that I could make a documentary film and it could make money” Stacy Peralta.
LS/FF Presents UK Premiere ‘The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez’ 22nd July, Genesis Cinema