A pair of California surfers who created the opening film for this year’s Waco Independent Film Festival put their surfboards, made of several thousand recycled cigarette butts, to the test Wednesday at Waco Surf. Director Ben Judkins and film star Taylor Lane said they were exhausted after their hourlong time slot in the surf resort’s wave pool at 5347 Old Mexia Road. The duo spearheaded the creation of their documentary “The Cigarette Surfboard,” which will make its U.
S. debut to open the Waco Indie Film Festival at 8 p.m.
Thursday in the Waco Hippodrome Theatre, 724 Austin Ave. Taylor Lane, star of "The Cigarette Surfboard" documentary, catches a wave Wednesday afternoon at Waco Surf. The 93-minute film, co-presented by Waco Surf and Keep Waco Beautiful, unveils the story of Lane who constructed a surfboard with 10,000 cigarette butts collected during an afternoon beach cleanup in California.
Louis Hunter, one of two founders of the Waco Indie Film Festival , said “The Cigarette Surfboard” stood out among hundreds of submissions during the selection process. Hunter and co-founder Samuel Thomas have organized the annual fest since 2017. “There are stunning visuals with the surfing,” Hunter said.
“The story behind it, with this surfer wanting to make a difference in this world, it was so easy to get behind. And the themes of taking care of our environment, again so easy for everyone to connect with. “Plus, we have a great surf community here in Waco with .
