Our top ten films at Latin America’s biggest surf and skate film festival
- Text by Alex King
- Photography by I HATE FLASH
Carving, concrete and celluloid were always a dream threesome waiting to happen. When you bring surfing, skateboarding and cinema together you get a carnival of counterculture delights. Throw in photography, live music, workshops and partying, and you’re getting close to the shape of MIMPI 2016.
Latin America’s biggest surf and skate film festival returns to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for its fifth edition – and the organisers, counterculture mag Void, have pulled out all the stops to ensure this makes a bigger splash than ever before.

Bursting out to venues across the city, this year’s MIMPI will weave together disparate lines of thought and play host to a wider debate on the shape of the culture, from building artificial waves miles from the beach, to the professionalisation of the industry, to considering surfing and skateboarding as art.

Big name international guests include France’s Benjamin Deberdt, who has documented skateboarding culture on both sides of the Atlantic for the last 15 years; and innovative American skate filmmaker Colin Read, who will be premiering his new film Spirit Quest.
But at the heart of everything are the movies – of course. So here’s our pick of the top ten, but we’ve missed so many bangers off the list, you better make it down to MIMPI to catch the rest.

Surf
Um Filme de Surfe by Bruno Zanin
Inna Di Caribbean by Arthur Bourbon
Peninsula Mitre by Julian Azulay & Joaquin Azulay
Mares del Sur by Ixa Llambías & Cristian Merello
White Waves by Inka Reichert
Skate
All Day All Night by Del Hooligans Collective
Spirit Quest by Colin Read
Valley Of A Thousand Hills by Jess Colquhoun
Putting The Tea In Team by Stuart Smith
Beyond Journal by Ville Leppänen & Juho Haapala
Find out more about MIMPI 2016, Rio de Janeiro, November 12-15.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Vintage photos of London street life at the turn of the millennium
London 1995-2005 — In her new photobook, Joan Piekny reflects on a decade shooting the styles and subcultures of the UK capital’s streets, just before technology .
Written by: Miss Rosen
Princess Julia: “I always state my age as I can’t believe I’m still around”
First lady — As the latest Artist-In-Residence of Huck 83, the London nightlife legend speaks to Josh Jones and provides a few recommendations and words of wisdom.
Written by: Josh Jones
Moshpits & kickflips at the Volcom Garden Experience 2026
Family affair — Last weekend, the skate, surf and snow culture brand hosted a free mini festival in its European backyard of Biarritz. We went along and chatted to legendary artist and surfer Ozzie Wright.
Written by: Isaac Muk
As the Cornwall & Devon coastline gentrifies, what’s left at UK surfing’s spiritual home?
Priced out – Once belonging to anyone willing to be cold and thrown around underwater, the sport is becoming increasingly inaccessible, as second homes and commodification reshape England’s southwestern shores.
Written by: Noah Petersons
A luminous portrait of Black life over six decades
Shared Memories — As staff photographer for The New York Times, Chester Higgins captured Black culture and spiritual connection like no other. A new exhibition celebrates his life and impact.
Written by: Miss Rosen
The rise of France’s rollerskiing scene, as its snowfall thins
Carving road — With changing climates forcing skiers to travel higher up mountains in search of quality powder, a small community is turning to tarmac and building a new vision of the sport that doesn’t rely on winter.
Written by: Flore Boitel