A new film about surfing has started screening at several small film festivals, its popularity reliant upon themes of friendship and looking inward rather than showcasing extreme stunts.

The film follows two longtime friends as they embark on a surfing expedition to remote areas on Australia’s coastline—a trip done in memory of their friend, Billy, who took his own life at age 16. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his friend’s death, filmmaker Darius Devas created Within, which explores the deeper side of bodyboarding and Devas’ connection to the ocean.

Devas traveled with his friend, Luke Wrangler, to complete the film that incorporates beautiful scenery of Australia’s coastlines. The filmmaker said he’s had the concept for the film in his mind for quite some time, but felt he needed to wait for new technology that could capture certain in-wave shots in order to successfully portray the story.

The movie has already won the main award at the AdventurePro Video Festival and has been screened at the Byron Bay Film Festival and West End Film Festival. It will also be shown at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of Melbourne Now.

According to the behind-the-scenes video’s description, Devas reflects on how Billy’s death sparked the beginning of his inward journey, and how it shifted his perspective on what matters in life. Unlike traditional action sports videos, the message is more emotional, but meshes well with the slow-motion, in-water scenes.

“Two things happened that seeded the foundations for Within. The first was Billy, my childhood next-door neighbor and surfing friend, took his life very unexpectedly when he was 16,” Devas said.

“The second thing that happened was that I saw a surf film called Echoes by George Greenough, made in 1973. After seeing Echoes, I knew that one day I would like to make a film exploring similar terrain—but only when the HD technology reached a level that made a camera capable of shooting at a super slow motion speed, while being small enough to strap to the front of my board.”

The narration of the film is done by Guy Pearce and is influenced by words from the director’s favorite poets, including Henry David Thoreau, Hafiz, Rumi, Goethe, Rilke, Saul Williams, and David Forster Wallace.

Check out a behind-the-scenes look at Within below:

Image from Being Here on Wikimedia Commons