Heavy Water
by Michael Oblowitz
| Original Title | Heavy Water |
| Director | Michael Oblowitz |
| Cast | Nathan Fletcher, Herbie Fletcher, Rush Randle, Woody Brown, Christian Fletcher, Christian Hosoi, Jay Adams, LeRoy Dennis, Grant Washburn, Sion Milosky |
| Duration | 84 min |
| Country | USA |
| Year | 2019 |
About the director
Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker who has directed and produced a number of critically acclaimed movies. Oblowitz‘ filmography ranges from artistic films, music videos, documentaries and numerous scripted movies including official entries at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival.His iconic surfing documentary, SEA OF DARKNESS (2010) won many film festivals throughout the world, including Byron Bay International Film Festival, San Sebastien Surf Film Festival, X-Dance Festival at Sundance, New York Surf Film Festival etc. Oblowitz’s early films are in the permanent collection of the Museum ofModern Art, New York City. Being a passionate surfer himself, in HEAVY WATER, Michael Oblowitz returns to a subject he is deeply passionate about.
„Nobody had ever done it successfully before. Taj tried it and went right through his board. Before that, Ace Cool got dropped into the water after hanging off a heli on the outer reefs, but not into a wave. No one had done it successfully before, and nobody believed we could do it. We had an uproar on the North Shore. Eddie Rothman wasn’t happy because he thought I was going to crash the chopper into the water at Phantoms in his backyard. And a lot of the big time water safety guys in Hawaii said it couldn’t be done. However Rusty and Brian Keaulana said the only guy that could possibly do it would be Nathan, but it still took years to get a safety crew together as the water safety guys wouldn’t work with us and that led to not getting a permit. It was a pig fuck in a barnyard.“ (Michael Oblowitz, in Wavelenght, June 2019).
Directed by Michael Oblowitz and produced by Red Bull Media House and All Edge Entertainment, Heavy Water follows big wave surfer Nathan Fletcher through the evolution of his surfing and his relationship with big waves. Tracing his lineage back to his grandfather, one of the pioneers of Oahu’s North Shore, Fletcher and fellow surf and skateboard legends share stories of the pursuit of their passion. It’s a voyage through the eyes of the surfing community that delves deep into the roots and mindset of board sports culture, culminating in a spectacular, never-before-performed stunt, as Fletcher once again attempts to raise the bar of what’s possible.
Produced by
Paul Buchholz: co-producer
Patrick DePeters: executive producer
Matthew Helderman: executive producer
Douglas Kaplan: executive producer / producer
Michael Oblowitz: producer
Carter Slade: producer
Luke Taylor: executive producer (as Luke Dylan Taylor)
Erika Wunch: associate producer
Music by
Peter DiStefano
Paul Fuller
Cinematography by
Brian Bielmann
Paul Buchholz
Brendon O’Neal
Michael Oblowitz
Orson Oblowitz
Daniel Russo
Carter Slade
Film Editing by
Paul Buchholz
Carter Slade
