Waveriders

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title: "Waveriders" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2008-films", "irish-documentary-films", "documentary-films-about-surfing", "2008-documentary-films", "2000s-english-language-films", "english-language-documentary-films", "2008-irish-films"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waveriders" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]

Field	Value
name	Waveriders
image	Waveriders FilmPoster.jpeg
director	Joel Conroy
producer	Margo Harkin
writer	Joel Conroy
Lauren Davies
narrator	Cillian Murphy
starring	Richie Fitzgerald,
Gabe Davies,
Kelly Slater, Rabbit Kekai
Chris, Keith & Dan Malloy
cinematography	Daniel Trapp
editing	Douglas Moxon
Nathan Nugent
distributor	Element Pictures Distribution
released
runtime	80 minutes
country	Ireland
United Kingdom
language	English
::

| name = Waveriders | image = Waveriders FilmPoster.jpeg | caption = | director = Joel Conroy | producer = Margo Harkin | writer = Joel Conroy Lauren Davies | narrator = Cillian Murphy | starring = Richie Fitzgerald, Gabe Davies, Kelly Slater, Rabbit Kekai Chris, Keith & Dan Malloy | music = | cinematography = Daniel Trapp | editing = Douglas Moxon Nathan Nugent | distributor = Element Pictures Distribution | released = | runtime = 80 minutes | country = Ireland United Kingdom | language = English | budget = Waveriders is a 2008 documentary film produced by Margo Harkin and directed by Joel Conroy.

Synopsis

Waveriders focuses on the Irish roots of surfing. The film covers the life of Irish-Hawaiian surfer George Freeth and his influence in popularizing surfing in California and his contributions to lifeguarding. It also follows Irish, British and American surfers Richie Fitzgerald, Gabe Davies, Kelly Slater and the Malloy Brothers. The surfers conquer enormous sixty foot waves - the biggest swell to have been ridden off the Irish Atlantic Coast.

Irish surfer Easkey Britton is also featured in the film and was the first female surfer to ride the "big wave", Aill na Searrach off the Cliffs of Moher in 2007.

Production

Director Joel Conroy began planning the film in 2005 when he read about George Freeth in a newspaper. He researched Freeth's background, tracking down his friends and relatives. The film was in development for 3 years; filming was over 2 years. It was shot on 35mm film to give it a vintage feel.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 56% based on reviews from 16 critics.

Awards

Awards Waveriders won the 2008 Audience Choice Award from the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, the 2009 Irish Film and Television Awards inaugural George Morrison Feature Documentary Award and the Best Documentary Award at the 2009 SURFER Poll & Video Awards.

Margo Harkin (Producer) and Joel Conroy (Director) were awarded Outstanding Achievement in film making for Waveriders at the 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival.

References

References

1. Caldwell, Johnny. (March 27, 2008). "Ulster roots man who gave world surfing". [[BBC News]].
2. (July 7, 2009). "Riding Green Giants". Irish Independent.
3. Declan Cashin. (August 12, 2009). "The surfer girl who's making big waves". Irish Independent.
4. "Waveriders".
5. "Latest News".
6. "Irish Film & Television Awards Winners Announced - The Irish Film & Television Network".
7. "Latest News".
8. "Newport Beach Film Festival (2009)".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::