If you’ve been paying attention to surf filmmaking lately, you know about Fielder Films. The small studio, created by Ben Weiland and Brian Davis and based out of Oceanside, California, has produced independent surf films that manage to capture not only the spirit of adventure that is so fundamental to surfing, but also the human stories that make it meaningful.
In Island X, they scoured the Bering Sea for an undiscovered wave on a remote island. The Search for Volcano Island once again took them to the frigid waters, hunting the eponymous island in Alaska. But the pursuit doesn’t end in the water, or on film, for that matter. The pair also recently launched a YouTube channel, where the search continues far beyond the waves.
So, with that in mind, we sat down with Ben and Brian to talk about the places where Fielder Films has taken them, and where they’re going next.
What’s your personal history with surfing?
Ben: I started surfing when I was in high school, just kind of for fun, and fell in love with it. Then in college I studied abroad in New Zealand, and it opened my eyes to surfing in these wild, beautiful places. In San Diego, you can go surfing for 15 minutes and just get a couple waves before work, but in a place like the South Island, it’s a totally different sport. You’re hiking 45 minutes to an hour just to get to a spot, rappelling down little cliffs. That really resonated with me and kind of led me to starting the Arctic Search Blog where I was researching waves in cold places like Alaska and in the Arctic. Then I started doing trips with SURFER magazine and it led to a string of articles with Chris Burkard that we produced together, and I ended up filming a lot of those projects and kind of got into filmmaking through that.
Eventually, I quit my day job and just got fully into video. Not too many years after that, I met Brian. He was into coffee and running this local cafe here, but was also into film. So then we’re like, “Hey, let’s start collaborating on projects.” We just kind of started doing everything together, and eventually formed Fielder Films.
How did you get from New Zealand to the Arctic?
Ben: In New Zealand, by the end of the year it was snowing and cold. I thought ‘Wow, I love this feeling of being out here in this wild place.’ And part of my family has always been into mountaineering and alpine climbing, so I’d had a little bit of exposure to those kinds of adventures. When I realized you could actually surf in these places where you also have that feeling of being in the mountains and in the trees and the cold, that felt like the perfect overlap of my two things I love in life.
When I was looking on Google Earth for some of these waves and cold places, it kind of felt a bit like an absurd joke. At the time, world-class surf in these remote cold places was not really a proven thing, but then over the course of all those travels, we did end up finding some really crazy setups, which just made me realize there’s actually so much more to be discovered out there.
What’s it like, trying to find that sense of exploration in a world that feels so mapped?
Ben: It’s so easy to research stuff online and from the comfort of your desk. But then once you try to actually get to some of these places, you realize how impossible it can be and how challenging it can be.
Volcano Island was like that. It’s so far out, then once you’re there, you realize how hard it is to even just find a wave. You’re on this boat out in the ocean on this massive island chain, and you have to navigate into the shore on these uncharted waters and figure out, ‘Am I going to fly the drone to like check the surf or like paddle in with all my gear?’
It’s one thing to find stuff on Google Earth, but it’s totally another thing to actually be there. And so it just makes me realize how big the challenges are and how great the opportunity still is.
Do you have any one moment, that stands out to you, where it was just completely different from what you expected when you were planning out the trip?
Ben: Brian was not on the original Island X trip, but he edited the film and then came on the Return of the Bering trip. What was it like to actually be there in person?
Brian: It’s pretty funny because I felt like I knew the place, having never even stepped foot on the island before. But then there’s nothing, nothing like actually experiencing it first-hand. You get there and you realize it’s a really small island, and there’s only one or two roads. You pretty quickly can see it all.
A big reason why Ben and I make these films is just to encourage people to, maybe not go to an island in the middle of the Bering Sea, but just to get out and see places for yourself. To instill that sense of wonder and awe and adventure. I think, for me, getting to see that place was super special, something I never thought I would get to experience.
What are the kinds of human stories that you’re most interested in? How do you go out and find them?
Brian: You could have any kind of theme or story, but the characters are what really draw people into it. As humans, we relate to that. In Volcano Island you want to see these brothers succeed on their mission. They’re heading out on the trip of a lifetime. They put a lot of stake in the game.
Ben and I are just constantly asking ourselves, ‘Okay, this is cool, we can go find waves, but what’s the story about here? Who are the characters, and how can we make people think about that?’
Ben: We get really excited about making a film or telling a story that’s pursuing the hunt of surf, but along the way you encounter so many other interesting things, whether it’s like an abandoned military base, a mammoth skeleton that’s hidden in a cave, or the interesting people that you meet.
I love surfing so much, but I also just love those adventures and those experiences that you can learn from, and we’re both really excited about following those threads, and then surfing is what’s driving the story underneath it all.
Do you guys have any like new projects coming up that you can talk about?
Ben: We are working with Dane Gadauskas and Ellie Thor in Iceland on a new project that’s we’ve been chipping away at. We’re heading back this winter. Then there’s a slew of other semi-developed projects that we don’t really have much to share yet. But yeah, we have a list of places to go.
