Watch: Dion Agius’ Secret Surf Film, ‘The Smiling Bag’
A few years back, Dion Agius did a little experiment.
He made a full-length surf film entitled The Smiling Bag, but instead of releasing it to the masses, he held in-person premieres and offered fans the opportunity to email him directly, so that he could send over the file.
Did it work? Who’s to say. Yet, here we are, still talking about the film five-plus years later. So that's something. The only difference is now, Dion dropped the film publicly:
Announcing the film’s debut for all, Dion wrote:
“The smiling bag, a film I made a few years back is now available to watch on YouTube.
“Originally only distributed via a download link for people who emailed me a few years later I’ve made it available to stream online.”
The film features surfing from a who’s-who of Australian freesurfing greats, including Craig Anderson, Chippa Wilson, Noa Deane, Ozzie Wright, and Dion himself.
As for Dion’s original motive in distributing the film individually and at premieres, here’s a snippet from an old Surfer interview:
“I really wanted to give it a bit more physicality as opposed to just throwing something up on the web, where people only have about a two-minute attention span.
“I've gotten messages from all these rad kids from all over the world, telling me their stories. There was one kid from Chicago who surfs on a lake, and another kid who can't surf right now because he's in the hospital, and connecting with kids like that has been so cool. I've probably had about a thousand conversations at this point, and just having those interactions has been so rad.
“And the same goes for the premieres; I started showing the movie in Europe, stopping in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London, and Barcelona, trying to connect with these little surf communities that don't normally get a lot of surf premieres. Just meeting all these people from different surf cultures has been the coolest thing ever. That's so much more rewarding than getting 20,000 views on Vimeo or something.”
If you missed it before, now's your chance to check out The Smiling Bag in its entirety; kick back, and hit play above.
***
Don't miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels.
Whether you're a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos.
