Nate Apffel is making sweet surfing movies – A feature interview

If Nathan Apffel talks like a seasoned filmmaker, that's because he is. Talking shop with him reminds me of interviewing Jason Baffa of One California Day or even Dana Brown. What's all the more impressive is that Nate is a seasoned 24 years old, and already has a 50 minute surfing documentary – This Is Home – under his belt.
Best part – he’s got more in his arsenal.

So just who is this Nate Apffel? Apffel was born and raised in the Burbank area, on a farm no less. With cows. And goats. And probably cow shit, too. He and his family moved to North County, San Diego where Apffel really got into surfing, albeit at an older age than many. It's clear Nate has had a pretty damn quick education in film making, having started only about five years ago making films on a little cam. Says Apffel: “I got injured in Cabo San Lucas, and had to lay low for a while. I started by filming my buddies surfing.” Couple some starter projects and then working with Matthew Goodman on Separate Volume, the Oakley-produced surf film, Apffel had some great mentoring. He’s also working with Ira Opper on FiNS, which was nominated for an Emmy award.  Apffel decided to strike out on his own, financing This Is Home, his first full length documentary, which took one year to go from shooting to distribution. That flick is available from This Is Home, and the trailer is shown below.

Apffel is busy – so busy the avid surfer has not had a chance to dip his toe in the ocean in nearly two months. (Me neither. At least, that's what it feels like!) When he does get to ride, he’s on a 5’6” quad, a Hynson Black Knight or a 6’0” Channel Islands of some description. You would think that a filmmaker heading to some sweet spots would love the chance to get wet – This is Home featured Costa Rica and Australia among other spots – but that’s not the case for this focused filmmaker. He's been shooting a new surf film and has a strict rule when it comes to he and his crew: no boards. “We're there to do a job. I'm pretty adamant about that,” he says.

So what’s the next film on the horizon? “Lost Prophets,” Apffel says, which features surfers who take a different approach to the surfing lifestyle than what is being thrust at surfers from the “industry.” Likening it to Morning of the Earth, Apffel says he “wants to portray the spiritual, calming and quiet of the sport” – a “sport” Apffel feels is ripe for returning to its roots. “The point of the film is to capture surfers that are under the radar. They've broken away from the industry. When I see them surf and the way they live, I think ‘That is what surfing is about.’ These are guys who believe they are the caretakers of the ocean,” says Apffel. So who makes the cut? The Malloys, Chris Delmoro (who surfs Alaia), Brian Conley, Reef McIntosh and Dave Rastovich, among others. It’s gonna be a different surf film, as we would expect from Apffel. “A friend of mine has described me as an artist trapped in the current iteration of the surf industry,” Apffel says, and it's clear he's going to make a run at changing it up. “These guys are the next superstars, I believe,” says Apffel, with conviction. He may very well be right; Aren't we more likely to relate to the life lead by Rasta than the life led by Kelly Slater?

Apffel says Lost Prophets will couple the right music with the waves and surfers. Says Apffel: “A surf film is 50% waves and 50% sound. You’ve got to get that right.” (Readers will know that Apffel and Tyler Moyer picked a great track for This is Home.)
Lost Prophets will be released in August 2009, with a coast-to-coast tour planned for July. 2009.

We hope Nate gets some surf in before the release, and are stoked to see Lost Prophets.

For now, check out This is Home: