CineVegas 2009 Preview: ‘Sea of Darkness’

CineVegas 2009 is right around the corner (this week to be precise), and We Are Movie Geeks are going to be there in full force. Throughout the festival, which runs from June 10th through the 15th, we are going to be bringing you all the coverage you need including reviews, interviews, party breakdowns, and red carpet premiere coverage.

‘Sea of Darkness’ is a documentary about a group of surfers who take on drug smuggling gigs to bankroll their surfing addiction. Yeah, it’s true and most likely bound to be a very interesting story. The film will be screening at CineVegas 2009, appealing one way or another to the outlaw and adventurous side of us all.

Here’s the film’s synopsis:

Time: 1970’s. Place: the Indonesian coast. For a small group of thrill-seekers, surfing was an addiction, an attitude, and way of life — one that sometimes was seen through the lens of psychedelics. In SEA OF DARKNESS, a group of ragtag surfers coast from high tide to high risk led by man shrouded in mystery of near-mythical proportions. As they balance their thirst for the perfect pipeline with the dangerous risk/reward of smuggling illegal drugs and other illicit items across the South Pacific.

Though it’s a tale almost too wild for fiction, SEA OF DARKNESS recaptures the life and attitude of this wild ‘70s surfing culture. Bolstered by interviews with those who got their thrills and lived to tell the tale, director Michael Oblowitz recaptures how passion gave way to persecution and how romance was ultimately defeated by reality. The nearly inconceivable story of these young surfers will connect with the adventurer in us all, but it also makes us reflect upon how much people will truly risk to hang on to what they love.

‘Sea of Darkness’ screens on Friday, June 12 at 5:30 pm and again on Saturday, June 13 at 12:30 pm.