No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience...

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary coastlines, from the thundering barrels of Puerto Viejo to the famously long lefts of Pavones, the film captures the raw beauty of bodysurfing in one of the world’s most wave-rich countries.

A Surf Odyssey Across Costa Rica

The story follows Costa Rican bodysurfer Pablo Solano and his expat friend Spencer Dunlap as they crisscross the country in search of perfect waves. Their journey takes them to iconic breaks including:

  • Roca Bruja
  • Salsa Brava
  • Playa Grande
  • Playa Hermosa
  • Dominical

Shot by filmmakers Felipe Sanchez and Dennis Monge, the film combines breathtaking in-water, land, and aerial footage. The soundtrack features original music by California bodysurfer Sami Freeman, as well as tracks from Costa Rican bands Abedúl, Cocofunka, Magpie Jay, and Patterns.

“Pura Vida Bodysurfing” Wins 2025 Audience Choice Award

At the 2025 Costa Rica Surf Film Festival, Pura Vida Bodysurfing took home the Audience Choice Award (Premio del Público), signaling just how deeply the film resonated with the local surf community. Presented by Rip Curl, the festival was held on May 31st at the Surfer House at Jacó Walk and featured ten Costa Rican surf films that captured the spirit of the country’s coastline and surf culture.

This inaugural Surfing República event included a full competition with categories like:

  • Best Editing
  • Best Cinematography
  • Best Musicalization
  • Best Story
  • Audience Choice Award

The festival also featured an art exhibit curated by Romina Cejas and a surfboard showcase by Channel Islands Surfboards.

Bodysurfing in Costa Rica: More Than a Sport

Bodysurfing has long existed in the shadow of board surfing. Yet in Costa Rica—where many beaches are unpatrolled by lifeguards—it’s more than just a sport. It’s a vital ocean skill.

Historically, bodysurfing in Costa Rica was limited by a lack of gear—specifically, swim fins, essential for propulsion and control. That’s changing. Shops like Costa Verde in Uvita, now an official DaFiN distributor, are making high-quality fins more accessible and even donating them to local lifeguards.

Tico lifeguards and surfers are increasingly incorporating bodysurfing into their ocean safety training, and bodysurf camps are popping up along the coast. One memorable moment in the film captures a group of beginners catching their first wave together at Playa Grande.

A Sport with Soul

That Pura Vida Bodysurfing resonated with an audience of committed board riders is proof that bodysurfing is not just a fringe activity—it’s a soulful, elemental connection to the ocean. This film honors that connection and reintroduces bodysurfing as not just a sport, but an art form.

Spencer Dunlap is founder of Bodysurf Collective (@bodysurfcollective)

Trending Now

Costa Rica Launches Traceability System to Tackle Illegal Logging

Costa Rica is advancing with the creation of a National Forest Traceability System, a key tool to guarantee the legality and sustainability of timber...

Costa Rica’s PPSO Backs Laura Fernández to Continue Rodrigo Chaves’s Agenda

Former Minister of Economy Francisco Gamboa and attorney Douglas Soto will join Laura Fernández for the 2026 elections, representing the Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO),...

Costa Rica Embraces IHRA to Combat Antisemitism in Region

Costa Rica has formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. This step positions the country as the sixth in...

Remittances to Central America Surge 20% Amid U.S. Deportation Fears

Family remittances in Central America grew by around 20% in the first half of 2025, according to official data—a rise that experts attribute to...

Judicial Corruption Exposed in Costa Rica’s Latest Drug Bust

Costa Rican authorities took down a cocaine smuggling operation Tuesday that moved drugs from South America to the United States, with a judicial worker...

Keylor Navas Joins Pumas After Controversial Exit from Newell’s

Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas is officially the newest player for Pumas UNAM, but his move from Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys has been anything...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica