Waves of Freedom Surf Therapy Documentary
Waves of Freedom follows young men in a New Zealand surf therapy programme, using the ocean as a tool for rehabilitation and change.
In this article
In this article, you'll learn
- What Waves of Freedom documents about surf therapy's impact
- How the Tai Watea programme uses surfing in rehabilitation
- Who the film follows and what struggles they overcame
- How the documentary was funded and who made it
Waves of Freedom is a documentary about surfing as therapy. It follows several young men in New Zealand who come to the ocean carrying troubled pasts, and shows what happens when the wave becomes part of their recovery.
Surfing is often written off as a hedonistic pursuit, a selfish chase for moments of flow. There is more to it than that. Surfing teaches courage, patience and mindfulness. It also pushes you into discomfort, and discomfort is where growth tends to start.
Watch the trailer
Waves of Freedom is a Dash Media production, in conjunction with Live for More, directed by Bradley Hook.
The film follows several young men who take up surf therapy as part of their rehabilitation. It moves from troubled pasts, abusive relationships, drugs and addiction toward the freedom they find out in the water.
It centres on Jared Dixon and Brandon Symes, both of whom struggled with addiction. Through their stories the film looks at abuse, prison, probation and, eventually, redemption amongst the waves.
If this is the kind of surfing that interests you, it sits alongside plenty of other films worth your time in our collection of the best surf documentaries ever made.
Film Funding
The film was successfully crowdfunded both on Give a Little and by private sponsors.
About Live for More
Live for More uses surfing to engage troubled young people. We run a surf therapy programme called Tai Wātea, which translates to Waves of Freedom.
This therapeutic group programme uses surfing as a clinical tool to reach young people who may not respond well to typical intervention. Surfing also works as a tangible analogy for life, and that analogy is woven throughout the group work. When we fall, we get back on the board. In life, we keep going. It is a simple idea, but out in the water it lands. Anyone who has felt surfing shade into something closer to meditation will recognise why it works here.
Live for More endeavours to sow hope into young people who are caught up in the justice system and lifestyles of drug and alcohol abuse.
We believe that every single young person can have a meaningful and successful future, regardless of their past decisions and where they have come from.
We know that with the right support and encouragement, young people are able to make better decisions and turn their lives around for a healthier future.
Live for More does not believe in a ‘too hard basket’. We believe that every single young person has value, should be treated with respect and deserves a chance.
We look beyond the hardened exteriors that many young people have, and we see the latent potential that lies within. We endeavour to extract this potential and empower these young people to live for more.