Gallery: We Had A Few Drinks Last Night

We’ve been producing these Culture Shifters documentaries with House Beer and holding premieres at their headquarters in Venice. They’re different to the traditional surf party. The invites are limited. The space is relaxed. We have a showing, and follow it up with a Q&A. A kinda surf-themed TED talk, but with booze and without the headsets. Food and drinks before. Drinks and drinks afterwards.

This is the third party, and documentary we’ve shown. The first was the Creative Director of Facebook, Scott Trattner, next was a film that had nothing to do with Dion Agius’ surfing. Last night, we premiered the piece with Jake Burghart, VICE’s Director of Photography. The inspiration of these docos is to highlight surfers who have shaken the status quo, found awesome jobs and then try to find out how surfing fits into their lives. Does it inspire? Does it reset? Does it sharpen focus? Turns out that for Jake, like a lot of us, it’s a release from our profession.  

Jake’s been the man behind the camera for some of VICE’s most noted pieces. He’s been to North Korea twice, was almost executed by stoned AK47-wielding teenagers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and visited the White House with Obama. Where, Barry O, after the interview asked them, “So, should we go get some craft beers now, that’s what you bearded hipsters drink, right?”

We showed the film and opened the floor up for discussion, unsurprisingly, North Korea was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. “In North Korea, everyone’s nice,” he told us. “It’s like being in a hotel that’s fancier than you’re used to and being annoyed by how accommodating everyone is. You’re immersed in the show. But, you also know that a few years ago a kid went to jail for forever for stealing a poster. You don’t even joke. You feel watched. It’s not scary in an in your face sort of way. It’s scary in a Truman Show sort of way.”

Following questions, answers, laughs and a few darker topics (the environment, not Trump FYI), we turned the music back on. We lubricated our cups with the tap, drank freshly juiced cocktails and slid back into party mode. View the above gallery for Bruce Irons, if nothing else.  

Culture Shifters with Jake will drop tomorrow morning.