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Surf prodigy Noah Beschen shows off in Hawaii

THE WILD

THE WILD

"The Wild," featuring Noah Beschen, was awarded the Grand Prize at the REDirect Surf Film Festival. This visually striking short film captures the raw beauty and restless spirit of a young surfer answering the timeless call of the ocean. It’s a meditation on nature, identity, and the journey into manhood. Presented by RED Digital Cinema and Surfer Magazine, REDirect Surf was a pioneering film competition that challenged 11 handpicked filmmakers to push the boundaries of surf storytelling using RED’s 6K Dragon cameras. Over 10 weeks of shooting and 4 weeks of editing, each creator crafted a unique vision of surf culture. A distinguished panel of judges—including legendary filmmaker Taylor Steele, RED CEO Jarred Land, Surfer Magazine Editor Grant Ellis, and Jamin Jannard (son of RED founder Jim Jannard)—selected "The Wild" as the standout.

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Sharks and idyllic streams — Filmmaker Aaron Lieber's THE WILD displays Noah Beschen's immense skill and wins the top prize at the the REDirect Surf Film Festival.

Aaron Lieber scooped the grand prize at the second REDirect Surf Film Festival with his short THE WILD, which shows 15-year-old surf wunderkind Noah Beschen doing what he does best.

The beautifully shot film follows Noah through a dense forest, showing off Hawaii’s naturally awe-inspiring landscapes and then into the sea. Watching Noah run through the forest, float in the water and get within touching distance of a massive turtle is enough to make anyone question why they’re not out in the water. Like, right now!

THE WILD rests on more than Noah’s undoubted skill as a surfer, though. Lieber has managed to capture how raw and natural surfing is to his subject; he glides effortlessly over the water, spins with absolute ease and looks as comfortable riding a crest as he does running up through the winding jungle paths.

As a reward, RED, who partnered the event with Surfer Magazine, gave Lieber a ton of camera gear ideal for shooting surfing.

David Malcolm placed as Lieber’s runner-up for his film Los Zapatos with Eric Knutson rounding off the top three as well as taking home the Fan Favourite award for Being A Surfer Is Fun.

Check out more from the RED x Surfer Magazine REDirect Surf Film Festival.


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