WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
The path to enlightenment begins at the world’s deadliest wave. From award-winning filmmaker Stacy Peralta (Dogtown and Z Boys) comes Patagonia’s The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez, a film that lifts the veil on one of surfing’s most enigmatic heroes, “Mr Pipeline”.
Gerry Lopez is as radical as he is Zen; he transcends categorisation. He’s one of the most influential surfers and surfboard shapers of all time, an entrepreneur, a family man, a movie star, and a lifelong yogi, who brought surfing to new frontiers. His influence on modern surfing is immeasurable. For the first time, his story is being told in full.
Off the back of sold-out tours in North America, Japan and Australia, this summer Patagonia, in partnership with Aotearoa Surf Film Festival to bring The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez to New Zealand. There with be screenings in Dunedin, Queenstown, Raglan, Mt Maunganui, and Mt Eden.
Holding historical relevance to local surfers and shapers, the feature documentary is sure to resonate across the wider New Zealand community too. “Gerry Lopez has lived a wholly unique life, but there’s a universality to the challenges he’s faced and the lessons he’s learned, and Stacy’s beautiful, entrancing film is the perfect elucidation of this soulful surf icon’s epic journey,” says Evan Hayes, the film’s co-producer and Academy Award-winner behind Free Solo.
Though Gerry Lopez is famously known for his calm demeanour in the tube, he built his career with aggressive surfing that left behind a trail of blood and tears. “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to all the people that I stole waves from,” Gerry announces in the film’s opening scene. “Because, I know that my surfing has been a subject of admiration and the way my surfing got to that level was stealing a lot of waves from other surfers. You see, taking waves from other people is really the same thing as stealing, and if you do it enough – and I did it a lot – you can become pretty good at it. You also stop thinking about what a low thing it is.”
“Everything that I read in my yoga studies, talked about full acceptance, no resistance, yielding, allowing, nourishing, understanding, love. And I guess, I thought my disharmonious behaviour with other surfers was balanced out by my trying to be in complete harmony with the waves. I’ve come to realise that yoga and surfing have been perhaps the most significant yin-yang relationship, yin-yang balancing act, of my entire life”.
A penchant for film is in the DNA of Patagonia – Yvon Chouinard, the founder and co-owner of the company, started making films in the 1960s. When The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez director Stacy Peralta asked Patagonia Films to produce the project, they jumped at the chance.
A portion of tour ticket sales will be donated to Patagonia’s non-profit event partner, the Karioi Project.
To reserve tickets, visit Patagonia.co.nz/gerrylopez.
Film screening:
03/11, 7:00pm – The Playhouse Theatre, Dunedin, NZ
03/11, 7:30 – World Bar, Queenstown, NZ
09/11, 7:30pm – Solscape, Raglan, NZ
10/11, 7:30pm – Totara Street, Mt Maunganui, NZ
11/11, 7:30pm – Crystal Palace Theatre, Mt Eden, NZ
Additional screenings to be added.
Worldwide, digital release slated for late-December, 2022. Please visit Patagonia.co.nz/gerrylopez to sign-up for alerts.
