A Deeper Shade of Blue

Jack McCoy has been making surf movies for more than 30 years. A Deeper Shade of Blue will mark the Finale of the 100th Anniversary Duke's Day celebrations showing Jack's awarding winning film in the reserve behind Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club.

Jack's goal when creating A Deeper Shade of Blue was to tie present day surfing to its roots of the ancient Hawaiians and one of the best known Hawaiians - The Duke.

“When I ask the kids around here (Hawaii) who Gerry Lopez is they go, ‘Oh, is that Cory Lopez’s brother?’” says McCoy. “You can ask them about the Duke, and they go ‘He’s some old guy who surfed.’” Jack started to see a fundamental disconnect between the younger generation of surfers and the roots of our sport.

“I spent a year and a half searching for everything that I thought I needed for my story,” says McCoy. “My big objective is to break away from just a surfing film and do a film that will hopefully explain to people why we surf and what it is that’s so special to us.”

Jack McCoy - World renowned film maker

But it the end, McCoy says that everything comes full circle. “About two years into the production I had to slide Australia and California’s focus sideways and totally focus on Hawaii,” says McCoy. “It’s really Hawaii that is the birthplace of what we understand as surfing. When you go surfing, 99 percent of the people in the world never think about that or even know how surfing exists. That’s the objective of this film, to give you a greater appreciation of what we do.”

With such a showcase of the deep rooted history displayed in A Deeper Shade of Blue, it is only fitting that the film draws this year's Duke's Day to a close. The film is expected to air at 7:00pm in Freshwater Reserve, just behind Freshwater SLSC.