USA,
2002, 57 min
Shown in 2003
CREDITS
- dir
-
Lisa Denker, Charlotte Lagarde
- prod
-
Charlotte Lagarde
- cam
-
Lisa Denker, Don King
- editor
-
Vivien Hillgrove
- mus
-
Miriam Cutler
- source
-
Women Make Movies, 462 Broadway, Suite 500 WS, New York, NY 10013. FAX: 212-925-2052. EMAIL: cinema@wmm.com.
-
COMMENTS
Lisa Denker, Charlotte Lagarde in person.
OTHER
It is not only Rell Kapolioka’ehukai Sunn’s power and grace in the water that will captivate you, though the splendor she displays on her surfboard is enough to leave you awestruck. Nor is it simply this Oahu native’s radiant beauty, even during a 14-year battle with breast cancer, which took her life in 1998. It is a combination of these aspects, and much more, that make up the amazing Rell Sunn’s character, as Bay Area filmmakers Lisa Denker and Charlotte Lagarde evocatively illustrate in Heart of the Sea. For this surfing pioneer was a skilled deep-sea diver, canoe paddler and hula dancer. She became a community leader and activist for breast cancer awareness. An icon in her home town of Makaha—known for drug abuse, high teen pregnancy and school dropout rates—Sunn empowered local youth by starting a children’s surfing competition. She was a remarkable role model not only because of her skills and her leadership, but because of her contagious passion for life. Nothing, not even a life-threatening illness, could keep her out of the ocean. Rell Sunn’s unforgettable story will leave you at once moved to tears, and ready to grab a surfboard.
—Tessa Swigart
FACTOID #44
Fred Astaire (alas without his top hat and tails) became the first actor honored with an in-person tribute at the Festival October 30, 1966. Astaire so enjoyed his interview with Festival programmer Albert Johnson, the balletic performer danced with his host onstage.
