September usually brings good things. With a bit of luck, it grants us typhoons and other storms that will shower us in succulent corduroy fall lines. September reminds us that winter is around the corner, but still allows us to play outside without a thick jacket. This rotation, September also brought us the new Thomas Campbell flick Yi-Wo and it was a classic before it even aired.

This September I was in Japan to cover culture and some other rabbits that will remain in my hat for a bit longer. I knew Yi-Wo would tour worldwide the entirety of this ninth month and that it would coincide with my visit to the East.
To my surprise, there weren’t any screenings in Tokyo or Shonan, but there were a couple all the way up in Hokkaido—Japan’s powder nation in wintertime. I nudged my friends of Surfer’s Journal Japan to join, but it would require a steep ¥160,000ish investment in terms of flights, car rentals, accommodation, and sustenance. Outrageous for ‘just’ a movie screening, even if Thomas’ oeuvre was my Bible, Tanakh, and Qu’ran back in the day—my Morning of the Earth.

Alas, I had to be patient.

Thus, like a good boy, I waited for the moment it was available for streaming and to my luck there was this limited option during the weekend of the tenth of October to quench my Campbellian thirst. This stream included a short introduction and a post-movie pre-recorded Q&A shot by Joey Ruiz. Was that worth the $20? To me, yes, but it also pained me a bit to think I could’ve watched it in a comfier chair, on a bigger screen, with some artisanal beer that tastes vaguely like a fruity MDMA and Paracetamol concoction just because the higher hop content would keep better shipping it to India back in the late 1800s.

“Buckle up, buttercup,” is what Thomas had to say in the introduction. He furthermore mentions that The Seedling (1999), Sprout (2004), and The Present (2009) were almost more tutorials and how-tos. Truer words could not have been spoken, Yi-Wo is nothing like its triforce predecessor—besides clearly being a Thomas Campbell film. Therefore, you really need a Tabula Rasa when diving into Yi-Wo—it’s more fun that way.

At first I found this equal parts cool and sad for newer generations. Sad because of the effect the previous films had on me—a wish for me upon their star too.
However, I also feel like newer generations are de facto in constant states of derealization and dissociation thanks to things like the current housing crisis, the global political climate, smartphones, COVID, and social media.
I therefore think Yi-Wo’s psychedelicness might speak to them as much as the OGs did to me.

So, all that’s left for me to think now is that this shit is just cool as hell.

To me, Yi-Wo watches like how I think a squad of aliens would perceive surfing. As if they would be the first to witness it and having to report it back to the mothership—scared, mesmerized, aroused, tripped-out, all of the above. The good kind of bad trip.

It took Thomas ten years to make it. And you can feel it when you’re watching it. Maybe because of that, Yi-Wo also feels slightly less cohesive at times, but that’s only when you compare it to his previous surf films—which you shouldn’t.

Yi-Wo also feels very intentional. It watches more like art. I think that’s a result of shooting this film mostly on 16mm film with Bolex and Arriflex cameras, an incredibly costly endeavour. You simply have to be more intentional when shooting this way, unless your last name echoes well in the hallways of Silicon Valley.

Thomas wasn’t the only one operating the cams. Guys like Dave Homcy, Scott Soens, Chris Bryan, and Tyge Landa all played a substantial part in its capturing. Shot in locations like Fiji, Morocco, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Australia, Utah, Hawaii, and California,Yi-Wo’s surfing is pure porn. Its talents, all saliferous Johnny Sins’ and Abella Dangers—true A-listers.

It features surfers Ryan Burch, Alex Knost, Craig Anderson, Karina Rozunko, Joel Tudor, Nick Melanson, Lauren Hill, Dave Rastovich, Ozzie Wright, Jared Mell, Ry Craike, Trevor Gordon and Bryce Young. Very good soup!

Just go and watch the damned thing already. Support independent filmmaking.

By Ronald de Leeuw
NORDIC SURFERS MAGAZINE

Directed by – Thomas Campbell

The Locations filmed are – Fiji, Morocco, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Australia, Utah, Hawaii and California. 

Shot predominantly on 16mm film by Thomas Campbell, Dave Homcy, Scott Soens, Chris Bryan and Tyge Landa among others.

Soundtrack by – Cone Cinq, Spacemen 3, Group Inerane, Tommy Guerrero (with Josh Lippi and Matt Rodriguez), Arthur Russell, Kassia Meador and Alex Knost, Duane Pitre, Ray Barbee (with John Herndon and Josh Lippi), Fuck Buttons