For decades Santa Barbara has attracted and cultivated a melange of surf innovators. From board shapers like Renny Yater, Al Merick, Matt Moore, and George Greenough, who have taken shaping to a whole new level. To surfers like Bobby Martinez, Chris Brown, and Tom Curren, whose unique styles have stood the test of time. There is a certain element to “Santa Barbara Surf Culture,” which combines tradition with radical innovation, that has played an influential role in the international surf scene for over 50 years.

The Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival celebrates this rich surf history and the diverse storytelling styles of filmmakers, artists, shapers, and surfers who have started it all.