''Surfwise'' is a 2007 American

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

about the 11-member Doc Paskowitz family, which was directed by

Doug Pray Doug Pray is an American documentary film director, producer, editor, and cinematographer who often explores subcultures in his films. In January, 2024, Turner Classic Movies , Turner Classic Movies (TCM) released a 6-part series, ''“The Power ...

. The film premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

on 11 September 2007 and had its U.S. premiere on 9 May 2008. Paskowitz went to

Stanford University Medical School The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fran ...

, became an

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

, and espoused a philosophy of holistic health and diet, while raising his large family of eight boys and one girl in a camper with his wife Juliette Paskowitz, and founding a school of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

Critical reception

The film appeared on some critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. Noel Murray of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' named it the 6th best film of 2008, and Tasha Robinson of ''

'' named it the 7th best film of 2008. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews,, holding 98% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

. '' Men’s Journal'' lists it as one of the best surf films of all time - second only to ''

The Endless Summer ''The Endless Summer'' is a 1966 American surf movie, surf documentary film directed, produced, edited and narrated by Bruce Brown (director), Bruce Brown. The film follows surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August on a surfing trip around the wor ...

.'' The film's soundtrack is an original composition by John Dragonetti of The Submarines.

References

External links

* * *
Official websiteDirector's Website
2007 films American sports documentary films Documentary films about surfing Documentary films about families Films directed by Doug Pray Films produced by Graydon Carter American surfing films 2000s American films {{surfing-stub