SB-issue59_digital

Documentary by Matty Hannon
If this profound little
film has taught me
anything, it’s that the
best kinds of stories
happen on the road, often
unintentionally. They’re
out there, you just need
to go find them.
Made by an Aussie who set out to surf the west
coast of the Americas, The Road to Patagonia
features awe-inspiring shots of beaches in the
middle of nowhere, campfires on snow-capped
mountains, starry skies in the desert, and
surfboards strapped to four charismatic horses.
And while this incredible footage spanning over
an entire 16 years is deserving of a watch all on
its own, the doco really is a lot more than that.
Hence the contemplative, heavy silence that fell
over our team when the screen went black.
Some of us sobbed more than others…
but don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a sad or
emotionally exhausting film at all. Actually, it’s
rare to feel so inspired after sitting in front of a
screen for so long.
We all took our own things from it. But for me,
it made me think about being too nervous to
get out there in the surf – to be amongst the
incredible stories and people that I am lucky
enough to experience through this magazine.
It’s easy to see why each of us latched onto
the story of Matty Hannon – an ecologist from
the north coast of New South Wales who is
left feeling overwhelmed, uninspired, and
diagnosed with clinical depression after a
tedious life in the city.
Everyone has their own ways of dealing with
monotony, but his solution was to spend a few
years travelling the coast that stretches from
the top of Alaska all the way down to the tip
of Patagonia – which is as admirable as it is
absolutely insane.
#59 // smorgasboarder //
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