Lost Atlas

Kai Neville’s new film project, Lost Atlas, has revealed itself. From the man who gave us Modern Collective, the best surf film made last year, we now have a title, a photo blog and a vibe for his new concept. It’s still quite a behind-the-curtain affair, but a mid-2011 release date and a spontaneity-meets-reality philosophy are two things that are certain. “This time it’s pretty loosely-based – I’m not trying to script it. There’s no outline, like “here’s the trips, and here’s who’s on them” – I’ve really just given myself a project window, and wherever the waves are we’ll go there.”

With a shorter time frame for this project (eight months as opposed to the year Modern Collective took), the emphasis will be on making a film that is “a representation of the time – what today is. Raw and real.”

Kai himself doesn’t even know the exact line up yet. The usual suspects (Jordy, Dion, Yadin, Dusty, etc) are all there, but there’s also some fresh faces this time around – Kolohe Andino, Andrew Doheny, Owen Wright and Julian Wilson have all confirmed. Kai digs the younger vibe: “I really enjoy the youth aspect – when you’re shooting those guys, the amount of shit they try is ridiculous. It’s like they’re unbreakable. They won’t hold back at all.”

Accompanying images on the blog are excerpts from a leather-bound diary Kai encourages the Lost Atlas crew to scribble in – “It’s cool when I look back on it. Like that quote from Owen – some dude looked at him and Owen looked back at the dude, and the dude lost his shit. It was at this wave in Mexico, and this dude was just like, “Fuck! Owen Wright’s out here!”.

For more photographic brilliance and abstract diary excerpts, be sure to head over to the Lost Atlas blog and keep your senses invigorated. So far Kai’s nailed two trips, and this week he and Stab pack up for a stint in Europe. Keep an eye out for more details coming soon. – Elliot Struck

Check out the Kai Neville studio here, or, direct to Lost Atlas.