Finding Pura Vida, a cause related media project with roots in the Charleston surf community will be re-released as part of the Charleston International Film Festival April 25, 2009. The project is a collaboration between Organic Process Productions (OPP) and PDA Video.
Originally premiering at the 2008 Film Festival, Finding Pura Vida will be released with new content as a result of the growing interest and support that extends well beyond the original network. A continuation of the original story, new content features how others were inspired by the organization and produced a fashion show in southern California to raise additional funding for the cause. It also delivers commentary from the filmmakers and surfers who experienced life changing interactions with the children in need.
The cause documentary short film follows surfers who pooled their resources and started a one day surf clinic for a group of orphaned children from San Jose, Costa Rica. Eight years later volunteer and professional surfers now travel annually from around the United States and Costa Rica for the one day event called the Pura Vida No Pro (PVNP). Since the inception of the event the organizers have established a support network that extends beyond the surf clinic.
The documentary project includes a DVD and a book. The book is presented as a photo-journal, mixing the photos of professional photographers with the photos of the children, who were given disposable waterproof cameras and asked to take photos of their favorite moments. Proceeds from the sales of both the DVD and book are donated to provide additional financial support to the Hospico de Huerfanos orphanage in San Jose, Costa Rica. CreateSpace (an Amazon.com company) donated the first printing of the books to help the cause.
The filmmakers and sponsors aimed to create a media project that would highlight the ability of cause-related travel to inspire and change lives. “My first trip to the Pura Vida No Pro was a life changing experience,” says PVNP Media Director Tim McManus. McManus, a long-time traveling surfer, has been involved with the event for five years. He decided to take on the challenge of creating a media project in the hope of inspiring other surfers to reach out to local communities when they travel. McManus says many local Charleston surfers now make the trip to Costa Rica each year to volunteer and that they have developed a special relationship with the local Costa Rican community and the children with whom they work year after year. “It has really been amazing to see how the involvement of the Charleston surf community has organically grown over the years”, he says “what we get as volunteers is just way beyond anything we could get from a standard surf trip.”
Event Details:
Saturday, April 25, 2009
1:30 PM
Charleston International Film Festival
Terrace Theatre James Island, SC
Here is the second video we have produced post Charleston Fashion Week. PDA’s video team (made up of Kevin Harrison, Victoria Mele, Tim McManus, Zsolt Haraszti and Steven Traver) covered some serious ground that week and came away with amazing footage including backstage, runway and celebrity sightings. This is just a small taste of what is to come for the complete documentary.
This retelling of Charleston Fashion Week’s 2009 premier evening is a blend of stop motion photography and video. A great snapshot of the how the night unfolded…
