Douglas Burke’s Surfer To Screen At Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema June 30

Indie director Douglas Burke was proud of his feature Surfer: Teen Confronts Fear and worked hard to get it into the traveling theater circuit. Burke resisted putting his movie on digital or disc formats, insisting Surfer was made to be experienced on the big screen. Unfortunately, he picked early 2020 to start its theatrical distribution.

Cinemas started closing down shortly after the opening of Surfer, creating a setback that has taken Burke years to overcome. But he’s finally overcome it — the film will screen somewhere before the end of this month! Specifically, Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, where a black and white 35MM print – made by Burke back in 2020 — will screen to the public for the first time.

Surfer is a movie about — what else — a surfer. Sage (played by Sage Burke) loved riding the waves until the day he had a huge run of misfortune. Not only did he wipe out, but the current kept him pinned to the bottom and he barely escaped with his life. Ever since, Sage has never been able to work up the nerve to surf again. Can he confront his fears and PTSD and enjoy his former favorite hobby once more? Be prepared — critics say this movie is trippy.

“SURFER is a self-funded indie filled passionate performances and bizarre dream logic,” reads a review from Vice. “Describing SURFER doesn’t do the movie justice; it’s a film that needs to be seen to be understood.”

Surfer will never be available anywhere outside of a theater, as per Burke’s wishes, and he has complete control over the film’s distribution so…that’s the way it shall be! You’ll never see it on digital or disc formats…the only way to witness this weird cult film is, at the moment, at the New Beverly. Tickets are on sale now! It’s Burke’s hope that eventually, everyone can see his labor of love, even if it takes them years to do so.

Surfing since as young as he can remember, at the age of 13, Sage (played by Sage Burke) is crippled by fear after suffering a wipeout on a huge wave. The wave slammed him to the bottom and held him pinned there without air until he nearly died. With his whole life still ahead of him yet now paralyzed by fear, Sage no longer surfs the waves. But unable to ignore the mystical and powerful pull of the ocean, he fishes in the surf, and finds more than he bargained for. This is the story of a teenager who confronts fear…