She Likes to Watch

Tomorrow, Bruce, Dana and Wes Brown–the famed filmmakers of numerous surf movies from “The Endless Summer” to the current “Chasing Dora”–will be at the Fremont theatre for the film festival’s surf night.
I feel a slight connection to the family’s films so I’ll be in the audience.
Growing up in San Diego, I began surfing in junior high with my other pre-teen girlfriends. We weren’t great — or even close to that — but we could stand up, go down the line and turn our neon-colored boards a bit.
My friends and I enjoyed hanging out in our bikinis more than searching for big waves. Our ideal wave was about 3 feet high and was ‘slow and crumbly,’ as we liked to describe it. To some surfers, that’s a wave they don’t bother to surf.
But we were among the generation of new female surfers — there were few of us and people noticed when we paddled out. At least we were out there.
When the Browns released “The Endless Summer 2,” my friends and I got a special invite to a premiere showing. There wasn’t much of a red carpet, but we wore our most surfer-like outfits and enjoyed every moment of it.
We laughed at the jokes in the movies and felt like we understood the wipeouts. We developed crushes on the movie’s lead surfers, Wingnut (who will be here Thursday) and Pat O’Connell.
I also developed a huge respect and admiration for the Browns, who make thoughtful and inspiring movies over and over again.
So, I’ll be in the audience Thursday night to enjoy two movies about surfers and to reminisce about the good ol’ days, when I was one of them.
There are a few tickets left for Surf Night — a red carpet event with screenings of “Chasing Dora” and “Step into Liquid.” It starts at 7 p.m. — visit the film festival headquarters at 861 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo or call 546-3456. Tickets are $25 or $20 for pass holders.
–Dawn R.