BULLYsurf_lahaina

Our crew is safe. Bully and his wife Ashley narrowly survived. Two of the boys featured in our film barely escaped with members of our crew. It is grim here. We are so incredibly lucky. So many are utterly devastated. And yet being here on the ground we see again how our community rallies: it is the most beautiful thing we’ve ever seen.

We began telling this story during Covid lockdown, following one man who, despite losing his business, stood up to help the children of his beautiful hometown of Lahaina, by taking them to the water. Many of those children were homeless then. Uncle Bully has now also lost his home. We thought we had finished this story. We’ve sent it to festivals. But within a week of the fires, Bully was gathering kids and getting them back in the water. What Uncle Bully is doing now demands we make a turn.

The need is unimaginable. And now our impact will be even greater still. We couldn’t have know how nostalgic and urgent our film would be. Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool is now both a document of the shining gem Lahaina Town once was, and a testament to the beauty and resilience of the people here, driven to bring her back.

The trauma here is on everyone’s face. It’s cracking in their voices. Our hearts break all day long. But Bully and our Ohana here lift us every minute. Daily life has now become a tricky balance between fulfilling immediate needs of those close to us who’ve lost so much and scrambling to capture this story as it continues to unfold. We are re-crafting Uncle Bully's Surf Skool to be the ultimate tool for bringing maximum love, and support, back to our community.

We are currently raising funds for the Uncle Bully Surf Skool Film Impact Initiative. Our initial intent with this film was to showcase Uncle Bully’s work with the local underserved and homeless youth in Lahaina because people may not be aware of the significant homelessness and lagging recovery in Lahaina (and similar tourist destinations). Now, West Maui is devastated. Our mission is to support the longer-term recovery of Lahaina, which will take 5-7 years, and make sure the community is returned to the locals who have lived there for generations.

Our Film Impact Initiative will promote ongoing awareness long after all the news cameras and the media leave. We envision many ways we can maximize impact on the ground such as a community center, rebuilding schools and getting local businesses back up and running - but right now we are living moment to moment. We want to build an enduring support system for all the things that will need to be done. Based on what we have learned from other disaster areas like Hurricane recovery from Katrina, Ike and Harry and the forest fires in California, we know it’s important to build an infrastructure for ongoing awareness over 6-9 months for fundraising because it takes years to recover and rebuild. Uncle Bully’s work and our film initiative is an important catalyst to do this. Our Film Impact Initiative will include: a massive community screening tour across the US, creation of educational materials and core-standard curriculum guides, worldwide film festival tour, promotion on airline in-flight platforms, broadcast television events with fundraisers, and more!

We had no idea on that first day we met Bully that this is the road we would be on.
But here we are.

When a global pandemic decimates the tourism industry across the Hawaiian Islands it means no travel, no tourists, and no surf lessons. Surf instructor Bull Kotter (or "Bully" as he's lovingly called) suddenly finds his small business pushed to the brink. So he turns to his community - not for help or a handout, but to give back. From surf culture, to ocean respect, to kindness, Uncle Bully is translating etiquette in the line-up into etiquette in life.

Beneath the brash and burly exterior is a heart of pure gold, and grit. Bully grew up on the streets of Lahaina and he knows what it means to “live it tough”. So when he saw other parents suddenly without work and kids without school or structure, he knew exactly what he needed to do. Instead of teaching the hordes of tourists and 1st-timers from the mainland, he turned to the local kids, the “keiki” who have never surfed. Many are "living it really tough", living outside without a consistent place to sleep at night. "Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool" also provides an intimate (and rarely seen) glimpse into the homeless epidemic on Maui.

This is a film about the power of one person to shape a more hopeful future for the next generation. The film grants you "surf-side access" to Uncle Bully’s unique approach, on the water and reaching young minds with his power of being present. A vast array of cameras and microphones - dispersed across the surf break - literally takes you inside the action as these surf sessions turn into life lessons. Witness an "in-the-waves" intimacy between child and mentor not before experienced. Little faces, once fearful and isolated, wash-over with joy and liberation, and that new glow of confidence - as surfers and as humans.

FEBRUARY 2023: We’ve just begun submitting to film festivals and currently looking for distribution partners and brand sponsors to help us bring this film into the world and make a BIG impact. Please email leah@inflatablefilm.com for more info and to get involved.

LEAH WARSHAWSKI: Producer | Director | Impact Producer
TODD SOLIDAY: Director | Camera | Editor | Location Sound
RAY & VERA CONNIFF FOUNDATION: In Association With
ANN ELISE WARE: Executive Producer
TAMARA CONNIFF: Producer
KIM LAWRENCE: Impact Producer
JENNIFER COBB MOYNIHAN: Communications Director
TOBI NOVA: Location Sound
ERIC FRITH: Story Producer
LILY MEOLA & ERIK JANSON: Featured Musical Artists