‘RISS’, a documentary from Red Bull Media House and Hamblin Imagery, is set for its on-demand release from the 11th May 2020 on Red Bull TV. However, the film is set to receive its digital premiere tomorrow 7th May on Refinery29’s Facebook Watch followed by a Q&A with Carissa Moore.
RISS was written, directed, and edited by Peter Hamblin who was the man behind the Emmy Award-winning surf film ‘Let’s Be Frank’ back in 2016.
RISS is a candid, mixed-media exploration into the life of newly titled Olympic surfer Carissa Moore, exploring her sense of purpose. Centered around the 2019 World Surf League championship season and Olympic qualification.
Carissa became the youngest WSL champion in professional surfing and a four-time world titlist. Following her third championship in 2015, success was met with challenging years ahead. As other women dominated the podiums, Moore struggled to find her footing which caused a reevaluation in priorities.
“I felt like I was in a three-year funk and just not flowing. I hit, not rock bottom, but I guess you could say that. I hit a pretty low point. For me, that was a pretty defining moment where I thought ‘OK, things have to change’. That was the inspiration to make that daily commitment to start changing the way that I looked at things.” – Carissa Moore
“I’ve always been chasing results and other people’s validation. In 2019, I was finally like, ‘No, none of that matters. I’m a daughter, I’m a sister. I’m a friend, I’m a wife”, says Moore.
RISS ushers in a new phase of Carissa’s life while celebrating a comeback that was the culmination of years of emotional searching and hard-won personal strides. It captures the turning point and how the 2019 title race unfolded as a result.
“My goal was to peel back layers and show the person behind the athlete,” says director, Peter Hamblin. “Everyone sees this one perspective of her, and [I wanted] to show the depth of her personality and what a wonderful person she is.”
“This is a real look into who I am, as a person, and I hope people are inspired to live authentically, chase their dreams and treat others with love,” says Moore. “I hope this film is something positive that can be a nice escape for a little while from everything that’s going on.”
True to Hamblin’s unorthodox and explorative style, the film uses mixed media to tell Moore’s story in a way that is true to her character. It includes home movie footage from Moore’s childhood as well as animated sequences and footage shot by Hamblin himself.
Carissa Moore along with the WSL Womens title won the 2019 Corona Open J-Bay. But, what many people may have missed was that a certain South African ex QS surfer, turned surfing vagrant, writer and construction contractor had a big hand in making it happen. Who is this undercover mystery man? His name is Duncan Scott. For more on the SA influence in Moore’s J-Bay win, you need only look here.