THE FILM
I wanted to make a film that celebrates the women and the diversity that make up the surf community at my local break in Rockaway Beach, New York. Surf culture is often shown as homogenous, but the lineup I regularly paddle out in is full of people from all kinds of backgrounds, all finding their own way to the waves. It is representative of the fact that surfing exists in all corners of the world and embody all kinds of people with layered connections to the ocean.
After surfing, we end up at immigrant-run restaurants that reflect each surfer’s cultural roots. By sharing waves and meals, we’re also sharing pieces of our history and identity. This film is about that connection. It’s about how our community is shaped not just by the ocean, but by the cultures we carry with us. By spending time together—eating, talking, laughing, comparing wipeouts—we show how surfing can be more than a sport. It can be a place to belong and a place of healing.
— Karen Song, Director/Producer/Series Creator
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/CREATOR
KAREN SONG is a film director & producer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her projects in development and production include various scripted narrative and documentary features and TV episodics which firmly center and make visible women subjects and diverse communities. She is in post-production on “Sundays at Café Tabac,” a feature documentary about ‘90s lesbian nightlife, media visibility, and activism told through the lens of the legendary eponymous party in NYC’s East Village. She is also writing a narrative short about queer surfers based in New York. An experimental short she filmed in Indonesia, "a dream of whale songs," was featured at the World Water and Oceanic Global Film Festivals. “Surf, Eat, Repeat” is the first episode of a global surf travel/food series that is currently in development, putting a spotlight on local surf culture and cuisines of coastal communities across the globe.
Karen is an avid surfer who leads surf-sail adventures for women, and is contributing host of the Swell Season Surf and Café Tabac podcasts based in New York City. More of her work can be found at www.singasongproductions.com. Follow Karen on instagram or send an email through the links below.
Karen is an avid surfer who leads surf-sail adventures for women, and is contributing host of the Swell Season Surf and Café Tabac podcasts based in New York City. More of her work can be found at www.singasongproductions.com. Follow Karen on instagram or send an email through the links below.
PRODUCTION
LEAD DP/CAMERAPERSON—LAND/WATER/AIR
I’m from Martha’s Vineyard, where I grew up spending long summer days on a beach a few minutes from my Mom’s. I take a special source of pride in being one of the only Wampanoag surfers from the island, and being able to connect to the world through the waters that have provided my family with food sources and ways of living for over ten thousand years. It wasn’t until my friends started surfing that I really developed a proclivity for surf filming and surfing. Since then I have found endless joy in documenting the beauty of the ocean and surfing waves all around the world.
One favorite thing I love about surfing in New York is seeing such an incredible range of talent. You’ll see complete beginners twenty minutes from a wave that has sponsored surfers punting airs and getting barreled.
My two favorite foods from my Wampanoag heritage are venison stew and a special, mouthwatering bluefish recipe.
DP/CAMERAPERSON
is
STILLS PHOTOGRAPHER
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SHAE FIOL
MUSIC COMPOSER
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SURFERS
I probably surf more on my knees than feet--kinda like how I imagine a seal would surf hahahh but that doesn't discourage me too much at Rockaway. Being a rookie is what I think makes me love New York City surfing so much, with graduating college/having full time jobs I have not been as consistent of a surfer as I would like to be however the people I have met at the beach whether it be 2 years ago or 2 weeks ago continue to greet me like a fellow friend and comrade. It's also like no other place, most people would shriek at the idea of going to the beach in NYC let alone paddling out and rag-dolling in it all day long. But it's the most therapeutic community sport I know of in this city. It also takes another level of willpower to endure the freezing temperatures, nothing short of impressive to see surfers come out with frosted eyebrows in the dead of winter. Although I was born in Mexico and raised in the Middle East, I've spent the majority of my life in New York and admire how the rising surf culture is not short of its true locals. There is still New Yorkness in Rockaway, you don't feel like someone copied over the tiki jugs, torches and boards from the islands or western coast and pasted them on the sands of New York City--at least not yet. Ethnically I am half Lebanese and half Mexican with a sliver of French as well, I left Mexico when I was almost 2 years old and would not return until age 21. I grew up within a middle class expat community in the UAE, a miniscule of whom were also Latino. So I grew up longing for Mexico, often looking out onto the Persian Gulf imagining I could see the edges of the Mexican Gulf on the horizon. I did not know at the time that I was also half Arab like many of my peers. At age 13 I moved to New York and was finally on a surfable coast. At 21 I moved back to Mexico for 6 months and worked on a boat for free surfing on my few days off-- I actually still owe the local board rental guy $2.50 for a rental. I grew up mainly eating Lebanese food, sometimes even thinking it was Mexican. My Ziti (abuela in Arabic) ran a small Lebanese bistro in San Luis Potosi Mexico where my mother would work throughout much of her youth. My most prominent memory of my Ziti was when we made Kibbeh (an intricately fried and stuffed lamb meatball) together, I must have been 6 years old but I remember how she would tell us to cup our hands to form the hollow football shape of her delicious kibbeh. A lot has been lost with assimilation, but the memory of cuisine seems to withstand longer than language or much else. My favorite dish would have to be Kibbeh followed by a rich Arabic coffee paired with a coffee-grounds fortune reading to end the meal. Fun fact; my name Añes means lamb and one of my last names, Yamin means at the right hand, which feels biblical but it also just means I love to eat lamb with my right hand (left is haram).
My Favorite thing about surfing in NYC is my community. I believe we are one of the most diverse surf breaks in the world. With a lineup reflecting the mixing pot that New York City is.
- Where are you from?/where'd you grow up?
- Where are your family roots from?/What was the culture you were raised in at home growing up?
- Your fave family/ethnic dish
I’m a first generation Peruvian-American from Jackson, New Jersey. And even though Peru and Jersey both have world-class waves, I actually learned to surf right here in Rockaway Beach, NYC, where I currently live.
Surfing in NYC is crazy because in one moment you can watch a magical sunrise with a pod of dolphins while catching the wave of your life with your closest friends…and then 90 minutes later, you’re speed-walking past hundreds of people into a midtown office building wearing business casual with an $8 latte in your hand. And then you get so obsessed with the first part, like I did, that you quit your corporate job and spend your time chasing those beautiful moments…inside and outside the water.
Since my parents and three older brothers were all born in Peru, Peruvian culture, humor, and food have been woven through my whole upbringing. Besides ceviche (since everyone loves ceviche), my favorite Peruvian dish is tallarines verdes or “green spaghetti”. Despite the name, my mom usually made it with linguini in a walnut-basil pesto sauce, then she’d top it with a giant filet mignon steak, and then top that with a fried egg and let the yolk drizzle down. It’s pretty spectacular.
I’m originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and immigrated to the U.S. when I was six. I spent years moving back and forth between Brazil and here before finally settling in the States for college.
My favorite Brazilian dish is feijoada — a slow-cooked, soulful stew that’s deeply traditional and meant to be shared. It’s usually made in a big pot and brings everyone together around the table.
Surfing in NYC feels like pressing pause on my busy city life. For a few hours, I get to ditch the constant adulting and step into another world — fun waves, good friends, and rare, pure presence. And because the surf here isn’t always great, when it is, it’s pretty fucking magical.
Where you’re from / grew up:
Grew up in Southern California surfing and skateboarding. Spent a lot of time up the Northwest (San Francisco/Half Moon Bay) coast chasing waves and skateboarding. Originally from Los Angeles, but now I live in Brooklyn (Bed Stuy)
Family roots / heritage:
Vietnamese American
Favorite family or ethnic dish:
So many dishes, but I crave 7-course beef (Bò 7 món) + the variety of soups like Phở and Bún Bò Huế. And growing up, we would always grab Bánh Mì before heading to the beach.
Favorite thing about surfing in NYC:
How much it reminds me of Southern California — being so close to a break, catching a bus or train to the beach. I love living in a big city but being able to escape to the ocean in under an hour and less than 15 miles.
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