Ira and I met on Facebook early in 2012. Someone shared a link to the trailer for
Surf Berlin on my timeline. I watched it once, and needed to connect. I shot Ira an
introductory message and have been bugging him for updates ever since. During
his recent trip home to the states, we were able to do an interview.
Meet Ira Mowen; foxhound of balloons & boat wakes.
Where did you grow up?
Santa Cruz, California
When did you start surfing?
I grew up a few blocks from the beach. It wasn’t until I was probably 8 years old, on
a family vacation to Hawaii, that I first felt at home in the surf. I would spend hours
upon hours just getting pounded in the shore break at Makaha, with my brother and
dad. It was the most fun I had on those trips. Our family friend
Betty Winstedt, lived
right on the beach. Up until 1995 we’d go back every winter to visit. We later found
out she was the ’1959 Women’s Surfing World Champion.’ I think those trips solidified
my love for being in the surf. Later on.. around ’93, I got into Nirvana, and skateboarding.
The latter of the two is what lead me to try a surfboard in the summer of ’95.
Tell us a bit about your artistic endeavors…
Since I was old enough to hold a pencil, I’ve known that I wanted to be an artist. Lucky
for me, my parents have always supported me as an artist. At the age of 6, they enrolled
me in an art class that I continued all the way through high school. I studied illustration
in college… but after graduating, somehow became more attracted to video art. As a kid
I would borrow my dad’s camcorder when ever I could, to make stop-motion films and
what not. I guess my interest in video never left. Almost all of my work is
autobiographical. My YouTube channel;
citizenstand, is a perfect example of that. It
started as my response to video bloggers in the early days of YouTube. Lately it’s been
all about intense moments where I’m chasing something that’s seemingly impossible to
achieve. In 2006 I was traveling the globe chasing video cameras attached to helium
balloons, that recorded random aerial video. No strings attached. Just the wind controlling
where they went.
The Balloon Project got a lot of critical acclaim, and kept me busy for
the following 5 years. The project also lead me to my first job making video for
Vice Magazine, in Berlin. After three years I realized that working full time, and for
someone else… wasn’t for me. I had too many other interests. I quit, got a dog, built a tiny
house on a lake with my girlfriend, and began waiting for the next good idea.
(Ira and his dog (she also likes to surf))
What can you tell us about Surf Berlin?
Surf Berlin is a documentary film I’m directing about my lone quest to be the first in
history to surf the only wave in Germany. The spot is very unusual because the head-high
barreling wave is actually the wake from a giant ship.
How did you discover the wave?
In 2010 I began paddling around the river Spree in Berlin, which connects to the lake
in front of my tiny home. My hope was for a sandbar that could catch the wake from
one of the cargo ships passing by every half hour or so. No such luck. In 2011, I heard
some talk of a surf spot just outside the city. I was directed to said spot, and saw a couple
knee high waves popping up every time a certain ship passed by. Although small, you
have no idea how excited I was. Still, something inside me wished it was bigger. A few
months later when the wind was offshore, I went back to investigate. The spot I checked
the first time was about a mile away from the ship. My hunch was that If i got closer to
the ship the wave would be bigger. Later that evening I witnessed one of the most
incredible waves I’ve ever seen; a head high, barreling wave, and in Germany of all places!
(still from Surf Berlin. One of the very first big wave Ira witnessed at the spot)
What inspired you to make the film?
After watching the wave roll in, I started talking with a guy who grew up near the spot.
He told me that the ship that makes the wave was getting old, and would be replaced in
the coming months. I didn’t think much of it at the time… just that it was unfortunate,
and I wanted to try and surf it before it was gone. That was when deciding moment came.
After returning home to my studio in Berlin, I went online to check and see if this wave
had been surfed before. I couldn’t find a single picture or video.
My thought process went something like this:
A perfect wave exists in Germany + it’s never been surfed + it will soon be extinct = I
have to make a film.
Have you had any interactions with the locals?
It’s been pretty lonely out there. I’ve never seen another surfer. Occasionally people
walking along the shore will stop and watch. Once in a while they ask me what I’m doing.
The most common question is “Isn’t it too cold?!” One old German guy told me that 5
years ago the ship made bigger waves. Apparently one day a giant wave knocked over
some people on the shore, and the captain was told to take it easy from then on. That’s
about as close as you’ll get to the typical “should have been here yesterday” story for this
spot. As part of the project, and to pay homage to the place… I plan to research, and talk
to locals, along with anyone else who knows the place. I want to find out if indeed this
spot has some undocumented history to be told. The ship is old, so I’m guessing the wave
has been rolling in since the Berlin Wall came down, maybe longer.
What are you chasing the wave with?
When I first saw the wave I didn’t have anything in Berlin that I could ride it with. I
had my super warm wool-lined wetsuit for paddling in the lake, but I just never
expected to be surfing here. After discovering the wave, I called up my dad in
California and asked him to send over the surf mat that
Paul Gross made for me. The
mat was the perfect tool for studying the wave because it made accessing the spot a
lot easier. I could fit all my surf gear and cameras on my back, and drive out there on
my old moped when the weather was good. When I’m not riding the mat, I’m using a
hand-plane I carved out of an old 80′s skateboard that my girlfriend found on the street.
I also have a 7’2” Simmons twin fin surfboard… that I had made in Biarritz, France.
What’s the wave like?
It’s a lot bigger than I originally expected, and it’s very very hard to catch. Trying to
catch this wave has probably been the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’d say
the most difficult part was paddling out at a spot I’d never surfed, on a surfboard I’d
never ridden… knowing I wasn’t in the pocket, and there wasn’t another wave coming.
A day or two might pass before the next wave. Sometimes it would be a week. Because
the summer traffic slows the ship down too much, waves only breaking in the winter
months. There were days where I was paddling through what looked like a giant 7-Eleven
Slushy. I tend to feed off of challenges. Trying to catch this wave quickly turned into an
obsession. I paddled out over 150 times before I finally caught the wave.
(Ira about to take a pounding by one of the biggest waves the ship made during filming)
150 times?!
Yep. That probably explains why nobody else is out there trying to catch it. The thing
is… once I accumulated around 50 failed attempts, I just couldn’t stop. When I’m
passionate about something I’ll do it no matter what. It was quite a struggle… that’s for
sure. Between freezing water, cold air, wind, and slipping into a wet wetsuit… I really
wasn’t kind to my body. My biggest mistake was not dressing warm enough. It took me
a few times of getting really sick to realize that I should really be dressed like I’m going
snowboarding. Once I figured out how to stay warm It was all good. I’d wear my snow
gear up to the edge of the water, take it off at the last minute, paddle out, try to catch the
wave, then paddle back in, and quickly put my snow gear back on over the wetsuit. It
was pretty insane what I went through to catch just one wave. I guess you could say the
dream was strong. I also wasn’t too keen on making a surf movie about not catching a
wave.. although that would have been pretty funny. I definitely have a very strong
love-hate relationship with the place.
(Ira watching one of many waves that just wasn’t big enough)
What do hope people will walk away with, from Surf Berlin?
It’s been quite an adventure. I hope I can share my quest through the film, and the upcoming
book. My dream would be to give people something they will want to watch over and over
again. This won’t be your average surf movie, or documentary. I envision it being more like
a film about a lone man who’s trying over and over again to climb a mountain nobody knew
existed. Nobody knows he’s doing it… and all the while he’s running out of time, because the mountain will soon fall into the sea. Something like that. I see the film being very dreamy,
like an hour long music video, with bits of narrative taken from my trip journal to build up the
story.
What’s on the menu for 2013?
Finish the movie. I’m currently working with an awesome team of very talented artists who
support me with everything. I’ve got help with an original soundtrack, poster, book design,
an animated a dream sequence and much much more. From what I’ve seen so far, I can tell
you without a doubt that it’s going to be a magical film. I plan to finish it later in the year,
and have it available on my website
surfberlin.com. While the old ship is still afloat, I plan
to go out as much as possible to try to catch it one last time. A farewell surf on my mat, would
be a nice way to end the story.
