Screening Panel
Alex Karinsky was born NYC, but grew up in
Oz at Bondi Beach. Alex landed back in NYC in 1990 and has lived here ever since.
Alex was the Director of the International Video & New Media Festival, he
also started the first ever surfing TV show in NY called "NYC Wipeout!"
and produced over 40 shows. From that show with a huge mailing list, Alex founded
the Gotham Surf Club 1997 where many film premieres have happened, including
Jack McCoy's 'Blue Horizon'. One of Alex's surfing career highlights was being
a semi-finalist in the 1982 Pepsi Pro Junior with Kong, Lynch & Tom Carrol.
Alex is married and has two rockin' boys named Sandon & Parker.
Alex Dick-Reed grew up surfing the secluded perfection of his
Caribbean homeland before becoming a journalist and environmental campaigner.
After several years as a Caribbean correspondent for Reuters and Associated
Press, in 1996 he started The Surfer's Path, a magazine about "the world
we live and surf in". Eleven years down the line, it remains at the leading
edge of surf publishing with its stylish, eclectic and eco-centric approach
to the addictive art of wave-riding. He lives in Tortola with his wife, 3 year-old
son and modest quiver of well-used surfboards.
Chris Gentile is Co-Owner of Mollusk Surf Shop in Brooklyn NY and a photographer living and working in New York City. He is represented by Jeff Bailey Gallery [NY] and Gregory Lind Gallery [San Francisco] He holds a BFA from the Ringling School of Art and Design and a MFA from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. From 2000-2002, Chris was Associate Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Doha, Qatar, Middle East. His works have been published in Mens Vogue, Vogue Japan, Vogue China, Bon Appetite, Glamour, Vanity Fair, GQ, Details, Domino, Nylon, Surface, Art Forum, and Topic.
Gabe Sullivan is a veteran photojournalist for Surfer Magazine. His "Curious Gabe" column is a fixture in the monthly pages of Surfer. When he's not out roaming the globe, Sullivan splits his time between Laguna Beach, CA and New York City with his wife Sierra.
Jeremy Dean grew up the son of missionaries in the Amazon jungles of Peru, where he spent most of his time fishing for piranha and was forced to eat monkey on several occasions. After a few years in the US finishing high school, he again hit the road, traveling and surfing throughout the world. He eventually made it through college with a degree in Art and Film. He spent six years making the independent feature length documentary Dare Not Walk Alone about civil rights and social justice, appearing in theaters across the country in 2008. His films have been shown in film festivals around the world where they have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. He now lives in Brooklyn where he has been lucky enough to surf through two New York winters.
Keiko Beatie is a contributing writer for various film publications and is a Creative Consultant, Curator, Jury Member and Programmer for a number of film festivals. She curates film for Laguna Art Museum and is also the producer for films events at the prestigious Surfing Heritage Foundation in San Clemente, California, the largest surfboard collection and surf archive in the world. Her passion and knowledge has lead her to become an expert in the action sports films primarily surf films programming. She has had the pleasure of producing premiere screenings of RIDING GIANTS, STEP INTO LIQUID, DOGTOWN & ZBOYS, Faces of The Bay: The Honolua Bay Story, Timmy Turners, Tsunami Dairies, 35 Year Tribute to 5 Summers Stories and 40 Year Tribute to Bruce Brown and Endless Summer and is currently working on a Life Time Tribute to Bud Browne and HIGHWATER the new film by Dana Brown. This past year she programmed world wide at the Wavescape Surf Film Festival, South Africa and Michilemu, Chile. Most resently Keiko curated a Surf Music, Film and Art tour in Brazil with Donavan Frankenreider, Matt Costa and Glove and a tour of Taylor Steels newest film Trilogy that stars Andy Irons, Parko and Taj Burrows.
Mike Nelson is the co-owner of Unsound Surf Shop in Long Beach, NY and the co-producer of two foundation laying surf videos in the NY surf scene: COUCH TOUR and NORTH OF NOWHERE. As a surf photographer, Mike continues to capture New York's finest surfing moments, and his work has appeared in various surf publications including Surfer Magazine, Eastern Surf Magazine, and many others. Mike was recently named ESM's 2007 Surf Photographer of the Year.
Mitch Varnes is the principal of Board Sports Management, the surfing world’s leading athlete and event management firm. Based in Indialantic, Florida, Mitch and his agency have advised, consulted and negotiated deals and projects with many of surfing’s biggest names and companies. Mitch was Surfing Magazine’s first East Coast editor and is the creator of the Hobgood Challenge, the Red Bull Tow-At and the ASP 5-star O’Neill Sebastian Inlet Pro. He has been surfing and enjoying surf movies for more than 30 years.
Richard Phillips is an artist living and working in New York City. His paintings have been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles and White Cube Gallery in London. He has a forthcoming solo exhibition with the Gagosian Gallery in New York in 2008. His works are included in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art in Texas.
John M. Schultz is a documentary filmmaker and archivist who was born and raised in New York. His surfboard collection is arguably one of the best in the world and although his documentary film work for NBC earned him an Emmy he’s currently studying to become a teacher. When not spinning roots-reggae for the Black Redemption Sound System, ‘Dubstar’ can be found at home in Long Beach with Puff Cat.
