What do you get when you take 10,000 discarded cigarette butts and turn them into a surfboard? A pretty powerful conversation about the state of our oceans.
The Cigarette Surfboard is an award-winning 90-minute documentary from filmmaker Ben Judkins that takes an unlikely surfboard around the world, using surfing as a way into a much bigger story about ocean pollution, personal responsibility and what we can actually do about it.
Featuring an inspiring cast of professional surfers and ocean activists, including our very own style master Mikey February, the film explores the threats facing our seas while focusing on the people turning concern into action.
And this isn’t a doom-and-gloom environmental film. It’s a solution-driven look at how local action can create meaningful change. The project has already played a role in a grassroots campaign in Santa Cruz, California, which helped lead to legislation banning the sale of single-use cigarette filters, the world’s most littered item.
Surfing is the medium, but the message is universal: the small choices we make can add up, and protecting the places we love starts with what we do at home.
The online premiere runs from September 15–27, timed around International Coastal Cleanup Day on September 19, with live virtual Q&As featuring surfers and ocean activists from the film.
Buy your ticket to watch The Cigarette Surfboard online here and see what happens when a surfboard made from trash becomes a vehicle for change.
Directed, Written, Filmed, and Edited by Ben Judkins
Sound Design by IMRSV Sound (William Sammons)
Original Score by IMRSV Sound (Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach & William Sammons) & Kai Killion
Recorded by IMRSV Sound (Jacob Bloomfield-Misrach & William Sammons) & Joe Kaplow
Color by Gary Coates
Graphics by Shinya Dalby
Additional Footage by Michael Broccolo, Lachy McKinnon, Dan Lorch, Paul Daniel, Sean Evans, Fionn Rogers, Connor Trimble, and Abe Alarcon
Thumbnail Photo by Katie Rodriguez