Behind All Things Arctic Surfing | Filmmaker Ben Weiland continues to push deeper
Ben Weiland has been on the forefront of arctic surf exploration for the last 7 years. Along with partners in crime like Chris Burkard the world has shrunk greatly since they’ve set their sites and cameras on cold empty waves. Learn all about it in his interview with SURFER and get some before the whole world is crowded!
What was the craziest experience or scenario you’ve encountered?
Definitely in Iceland, last December with Burkard. We were trying to get to this little never-before-surfed peninsula by boat. No towns, no roads, nothing. On the way out, the worst storm in 25 years blew through without warning. It could have gotten really bad. We were with Icelandic surfers, and even they were like, “Woah, this is heavy.” It was by far the craziest scenario I’ve ever encountered. You want some adventure, but you want it to be safe, and on that trip, we really didn’t know what the end result was going to be.
Let’s talk about your cinematic vision for a second. You have a lot of originality in your looks. The pulled-back lineups, more on-land, lifestyle stuff—you’re sacrificing tight action for the greater good of a deeper story. When there’s so much influence with these short edits these days, how do you stay true to your own vision?
Yeah, there’s no shortage of surf content or surf videos. I try to think of what makes a particular film unique. Is it the place, the location, the circumstances, the surroundings? I try to do whatever it takes to show that and make a strong statement with those things in mind, and then have the surf be a part of that. Otherwise, it becomes this head-to-head competition with the very best waves paired with the very best surfing, and there’s already a lot of that out there. For me, I’m more invested in circumstances and highlighting them.
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