UNCLE BULLY'S SURF SKOOL
IN LAHAINA TOWN, SURF LESSONS BECOME LIFE LESSONS.
IMPACT STARTS NOW
Our CALL TO ACTION has 4 main pillars:
TELL YOUR FRIENDS, family and colleagues about the film. Recovery from the devastation in Lahaina and Kula is FAR from over. Now more than ever kids need mentors and positive role models. Our MISSION is to make impact, BEYOND THE FILM and INTO COMMUNITIES. This film is a perfect tool for meaningful social impact and supporting relief efforts on Maui in the future.
BECOME A MENTOR & UPSTANDER in your own community through local and national non-profits that support mentorship, resilience, ocean conservation, etc.
KEEP LAHAINA AND MAUI in your hearts and minds, and understand the road to recovery is going to be a LONG journey for many years to come. Donate to local non-profits on Maui who are helping rebuild in communities and supporting local residents.
PLEASE MAKE A DONATION to our Social Impact Campaign that includes screenings and community impact events with underserved kids around the country. TRUE impact happens when you are PRESENT. Screening the film IN-PERSON with Uncle Bully and team, followed by action with kids, IN communities, MATTERS. We’ve seen what’s possible and our goal is to visit schools, prisons, juvenile detention centers and theaters with Bully leading a surfing land lesson after each event.
WILL YOU JOIN US?
IMPACT TAKES COMMUNITY
Disaster strikes TWICE. A community rallies. And Bully continues to INSPIRE. Re-shoot, Re-edit, then... a PREMIERE... and a WIN!
We’re humbled and grateful to both open AND close the 43rd Hawai'i International Film Festival. And what a ride of sold out theaters, across five islands, culminating in the Audience Choice for Best Documentary. HIFF has been an incredible partner from the beginning and we’re thrilled to be their very first fiscally sponsored film. That means donations are tax-deductible. And it means this film, and others, will have the ripple effect we DREAMED of. We’re eager to support the Hawaiian Film Economy and provide jobs for local filmmakers.
Our impact journey is just getting started, but we need your help.
UNCLE BULLY'S SURF SKOOL
SYNOPSIS
DISASTER STRIKES TWICE | WHO WILL STAND UP ?
When a global pandemic decimates the tourism industry across the Hawaiian Islands it means no travel, no tourists, and no surf lessons. Surf instructor Bull Kotter (or "Bully" as he's lovingly called) suddenly finds his small business pushed to the brink. So he turns to his community - not for help or a handout, but to give back. From surf culture, to ocean respect, to kindness, Uncle Bully began this journey translating etiquette in the line-up into etiquette in life. It's life lessons from surf lessons. It's simple joy in the middle of a worldwide crisis. It's the power of one man building a small pocket of hope.
Then, in one night, it all burns to the ground.
"Everything that happened in your life that's good, started with a struggle. Covid was just getting me prepared for this moment. I'm thankful for it because I know the growth that will come from this."
When disaster strikes the same place twice, and destroys everything Bully had started, and his home, his entire hometown, again he runs TOWARD the crisis, gathering his community in need. What Bully is doing NOW is why we are so determined to show the world what true resilience can be.
Bully grew up on the streets of Lahaina and he knows what it means to “live it tough”. But beneath the brash and burly exterior is a heart of pure gold, and grit. When he saw other parents suddenly without work and kids without school or structure, he knew the kids were his calling. So many local kids, the “keiki”, were "living it really tough", living outside without a consistent place to sleep at night. Whether they surfed or not, Bully became an antidote. Our film follows his quest, providing an intimate (and rarely seen) glimpse into the homeless epidemic on Maui.
And just as our island was beginning to recover, their world is turned upside down again as Lahaina is in ashes. Now it’s an entire community in crisis.
Uncle Bully's Surf Skool is a film about the power of one person to shape a more hopeful future for the next generation, and our community. The film grants you "surf-side access" to Uncle Bully’s unique approach, on the water and reaching young minds with his power of being present. A vast array of cameras and microphones - dispersed across the surf break - literally takes you inside the action as these surf sessions turn into life lessons. Witness an "in-the-waves" intimacy between child and mentor not before experienced. Little faces, once fearful and isolated, wash-over with joy and liberation, and that new glow of confidence - as surfers and as humans.
We’re looking for brand sponsors, collaborators, and leaders to support our Impact & Engagement Tour. Please email leah@inflatablefilm.com for more info and to get involved.
LEAH WARSHAWSKI: Producer | Director | Impact Producer
TODD SOLIDAY: Director | Camera | Editor | Location Sound
RAY & VERA CONNIFF FOUNDATION: In Association With
ANN ELISE WARE: Executive Producer
TAMARA CONNIFF: Producer
KIM LAWRENCE: Impact Producer
JENNIFER COBB MOYNIHAN: Communications Director
TOBI NOVA: Location Sound
ERIC FRITH: Story Producer
LILY MEOLA & ERIK JANSON: Featured Musical Artists
"JUST BE PRESENT IN ONE LIFE. YOU CAN BE THE CHANGE."