Contact: David L. Brown (415) 515 5079
November 8, 2007
Of Wind and Waves: The Life of Woody Brown to Air on PBS Hawaii on December 11, 2007
Of Wind and Waves: The Life of Woody Brown , an award-winning hour-long documentary on a 95-year-old legend in the worlds of surfing, sailing and soaring, will receive its Hawaii broadcast premiere on PBS Hawaii on Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 8 p.m. Woody Brown has not only lived a life full of remarkable adventure and accomplishment – including inventing
the modern catamaran, setting world gliding records, and surfing Hawai’i’s 25-foot surf in the early 1940s – but he has also done so with a kind of selflessness and generosity that have made him a role model for three generations of Hawaiians and virtually everyone who has met him. Two-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, David L. Brown (Surfing for Life), produced, directed and photographed the film.
Filmmaker David Brown states, “Woody is like a modern Thoreau on a surfboard, living in harmony with the world around him, alive to the possibilities of each new day, and following his own singular vision of how to be in the world.” The documentary captures his unique blend of enthusiasm, wisdom, humor and spirituality that have made him a truly inspirational figure. Born to great wealth in New York City, Woody ran away from the life of privilege to become a protégé of Lindbergh at age 16. The film portrays his journey to become a world record glider pilot, surfing pioneer and inventor. It also depicts the tragic death of Woody’s first wife in childbirth which led to the painful decision to let relatives adopt his two children.
Of Wind and Waves provides a valuable cross-cultural portrait of the land, people and culture of Hawai’i over the six and a half decade span of Woody’s life there. While the explosive economic growth of the islands has unquestionably undermined and obscured many Hawaiian traditions, Woody Brown’s story shows that the spirit of aloha remains very much alive. Of Wind and Waves won the “Inspiration Award” at Mountainfilm in Telluride in May of 2006 and “Best Surfing Film” at the Byron Bay Film Festival in Australia. The 35-minute version won the “Audience Award for Best Short” at the 2004 Maui Film Festival.
PRESS QUOTES
“Powerfully moving.”
— G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
“Sometimes thrilling, often inspirational…the highly satisfying tale of a man whose dedication to nature, simplicity, freedom and fun provide inspiration for all.”
— Leslie Katz, San Francisco Examiner
“This endearing one-hour profile of big-wave legend and nonagenarian free spirit, Woody Brown, succeeds in transcending the sports-doc genre by tapping into its subject’s knack for aging joyfully… His generosity of spirit is impossible to resist.”
— Michael Fox, San Francisco Weekly
“A captivating story abut a man whose outlook on life is infectious and inspiring…the best kick-in-the-pants since Lester Burnham quit his job in American Beauty.”
— The Onion
“Of Wind and Waves presents the truly inspirational tale of the 94-years-young surfing, gliding and sailing legend, Woody Brown. Full of timeless advice and captivating stories, this bio-documentary from San Francisco’s David L. Brown tells the story of one of surfing’s most overlooked legends. There are true gems of wisdom hidden in this movie that are rewarding for all.”
— Santa Barbara Independent
“It would be hard to imagine a more epic, thrilling life, and it’s a good thing that award-winning filmmaker David Brown was there to put the pieces together in a new one-hour documentary.”
— Stuart Coleman, Honolulu Weekly.
“A lot of fun – joie du vivre – colors Woody Brown’s life, and this is reflected in the film by David Brown….A rich and resonant story for surfers and non-surfers alike. Woody’s is a life that transcends categories. A memorable and often heartbreaking documentary.”
— Burt Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
“A satisfying one hour film that somehow manages to document the long litany of Woody’s accomplishments while constructing an emotionally powerful story of loss and redemption.”
— Michael Tsai, Honolulu Advertiser:
“Woody Brown’s story is indeed remarkable – and remarkably fit for cinema. Filmmaker David Brown tapped into an impressive archive of film and photography to complement Woody’s story. Most laudable is that Brown extends the film’s perspective beyond the typical life-of-a-legend narrative. Woody Brown’s story is most of all an honest telling of an extraordinary life – wipeouts included.”
— Krista Walton, The Maui News
Click to see Press Photos.
FILMMAKER BIO
The Filmmakers
David L. Brown
David L. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award-winning San Francisco documentary filmmaker who has produced, written and directed over 80 productions and 17 broadcast documentaries on a variety of topics and issues. His documentaries have received over 85 international awards and three Emmy Awards, and have been broadcast on PBS and in sixteen other countries. His recent work includes: Going the Distance: Journeys of Recovery, profiling the injuries and recoveries of four survivors of traumatic brain injury, that won Most Inspirational Film at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS; Keeper of the Beat: A Woman’s Journey into the Heart of Drumming, that won runner-up for the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2013 Mill Valley Film Festival; Running for Jim, a feature-length documentary on a legendary cross country coach who contracts ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) that won Best Documentary, Soho International Film Festival and the Audience Award, Tiburon Film Festival; The Bridge So Far: A Suspense Story, a comedic 56-minute documentary on the troubled history of the new east span of the S.F.-Oakland Bay Bridge that received two Emmy Awards (Best Documentary and Best Graphics and Animation in a Program) and aired on national PBS; Seniors for Peace, a half-hour portrait of an extraordinarily passionate and articulate group of senior peace activists (average age 84) that aired on PBS; Of Wind and Waves: The Life of Woody Brown; an hour-long profile of legendary 94-year-old surfer/sailor, Woody Brown (Emmy nomination for Best Documentary, Inspiration Award at Mountainfilm in Telluride) that aired on national PBS; and Surfing for Life, a feature-length documentary on older surfers as models of healthy aging. It screened theatrically in 40 cities, was broadcast on over 180 PBS stations, won 15 international awards, and was profiled in The New York Times Magazine, Parade Magazine, on National Public Radio and ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. The San Francisco Chronicle called it “a treasure..perhaps the most intelligent treatment of surfing ever captured on film.”
Brown produced three hour-long films on nuclear issues culminating in Bound by the Wind, a documentary on the global human and environmental legacy of nuclear weapons testing and the plight of the world’s “downwinders.” The Boston Globe called Bound by the Wind “far and away the best film on the nuclear legacy.” He produced three film festivals on nuclear and environmental issues and a week-long festival honoring the documentary pioneers, the Maysles Brothers: The Al Maysles Memorial Film Festival.
For twenty two years, Brown taught Documentary Filmmaking and the History of Documentary at City College of San Francisco. He has also taught filmmaking classes at U.C. Berkeley Extension, Diablo Valley College, Film Arts Foundation and San Francisco Film Society. His website is www.DLBfilms.com