Arts & Entertainment
Experience the inspiring Lahaina story UNCLE BULLY’S SURF SKOOL
Maui-made documentary Uncle Bully's Surf Skool (39 mins) will have its Seattle Premiere at SIFF Cinema Uptown on Tuesday, October 22 at 7p.
Maui-made documentary Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool (39 mins) will have its Seattle Premiere at SIFF Cinema Uptown on Tuesday, October 22 at 7p. Longtime former Seattle directors Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday (SIFF alumni for Big Sonia and Finding Hillywood) will attend in-person for Q/A after the screening, moderated by Warren Etheredge (host of The High Bar). The evening will also feature a trailer premiere for The Fast Runner, produced by Jane Charles (East of the Mountains, Sold) and directed by David Bercovici-Artieda.
UNCLE BULLY’S SURF SKOOL, from Inflatable Film, is about local Maui surf instructor Bull Kotter and his mentorship of underserved youth during the pandemic. This powerful story about one person’s quest to shape a hopeful future for the next generation is one of the last stories filmed in Lahaina before the August 8, 2023 wildfires. Leah Warshawski, Producer/Director and Todd Soliday, Director/Editor (who lived and worked in Seattle before moving to Maui five years ago) began filming Robert “Bully” Kotter’s work with local children who lived in Lahaina encampments and his free surf lessons during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The fires destroyed Bully's home and business, left several of the film's crew and cast homeless, and threatened many of the encampments where the children lived. After the fires, Leah and Todd picked up their cameras once again to share the ongoing story of resilience.
“We’re thrilled to share our latest documentary with our Seattle filmmaking community, colleagues and friends! Over the last fifteen years we’ve screened multiple films at SIFF and having our Seattle Premiere at the Uptown has always been a dream. We know this film is a powerful way to keep Lahaina and Maui in people’s hearts, and we’re proud to bring it to a city we consider home”, says Leah Warshawski, producer/director from Inflatable Film.
Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool received acclaim at the Hawai’i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani in Oct 2023 winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary, and has since won four other awards at film festivals across the country. This month, the film became eligible for an Academy Award. Earlier this year, the film team traveled to Kansas and California for screenings and community impact events at a prison, work-release program, middle school, high school and theaters. They are currently raising funds for a robust impact campaign across the country.
