SB-issue59_digital

The Road to Patagonia
#59 // smorgasboarder //
60
“I think it’s really important to highlight the businesses that are working hard
to change the landscape, because at the end of the day, we need systemic
change, and that takes everyone’s participation, from a hippy in a tree to the
CEO of a multinational.”
It would be fair to say that Matty carries these attitudes with him wherever
he goes. Not only does he believe that adventures can reconnect us with
the earth and each other, but also that immersive documentaries can inspire
audiences into self-reflection and action.
Today, in a far cry from his arduous life in the city, Matty is kept busy running
his documentary production company, Never Never. Most of the films he
makes are ecologically and culturally focused, meaning he gets to do the work
he loves (in some of the most stunning, culturally rich places in the world),
while somehow always finding a way to tie it into surfing.
Constantly driven by the ancestral values of the people he spoke to on his
journey, Matty said he is looking forward to making more time for his family,
the land, his community, and, of course, the waves.
“I’m currently raising money for my friend Aman Lepon to build a cultural
longhouse for the children of his village. He has a dedicated space to teach
them about Arat Sabulungan – the traditional animistic culture of Mentawai.
I’m aiming to get a GoFundMe happening for that, because people have been
giving us lots of cash at the screenings because they want to help.
“Heather and I are also having our second child in June, so after the tour we’ll
be moving towards a slower time. I’ve got a few interesting film projects lined
up. We’re hoping to make it to Ireland to introduce our kids to my granny
for her 90th birthday, and to use our time there to delve deeper into our own
ancestry.
“I’m lucky that my work takes me on adventures and gives me space to delve
into politics, issues, or stories. In our free time, we surf, swim in the crystalclear
river near our house, or go hiking. Heather’s also teaching me about
permaculture.”
If the stunned silence prompted by The Road to Patagonia says anything,
it’s that the film hits home pretty hard for a majority of us. Clearly, humans
aren’t made for the repetitive and noisy life that we live. So, when the days get
tedious, maybe we just need to get out there, amongst the incredible stories
and people that inspire us, and pick up a bloody surfboard already.
Matty said that it’s only in very recent history, since the agricultural and
industrial revolutions and everything else, that we have veered so far from a
life lived in relation to the biosphere.
“Since the trip, I have read a lot about the people of Britannia and the various
diaspora of that region. I learned that my own deep-time ancestors weren’t
that dissimilar to the Aboriginal people of Australia or the First Nations people
of the Americas.
“In a way, that’s the crux of the film. Across the globe every human race and
culture was once deeply connected to the land and living world. Modern
humanity is the anomaly, not the norm.”