Great news! Our short film made with co-director Caroline Losneck just got picked up by Film Shortage. Here’s a little director’s statement:
We were first drawn to Aaron Paulk’s balance of independence and interdependence, how he moves through the world with strength, and also vulnerability. Early on he shared “I’m more comfortable in the ocean than on land” which became the center of our creative focus.
In making the film, we wanted to avoid the familiar arc of a “hero’s journey,” where adversity is overcome and things are tied up neatly with a bow by the end. Instead, we leaned into ambiguity. We aimed to create space for questions, contradictions, and the ever-evolving relationship humans, and Aaron, have with change and uncertainty.
On August 8, 2023 everything shifted. Fires tore through Lahaina, Maui, leaving Aaron’s home and community in complete devastation. He called us days after fleeing; safe but filled with fear, and unsure if he’d return to a community, a home, or a life he recognized. The horrific number of lives lost was rising. “We need to include the fire in my story,” he told us.
The story expanded as did our timeline, and our responsibility. Our film was no longer just about surfing, or adapting to progressive vision loss. It became about how we collectively endure, witness, and rebuild in the face of devastation and upheaval. Aaron’s relationship with uncertainty was always central to our film, but now it took on a deeper and more urgent meaning.
In the months that followed, we spent time simply listening to and talking with Aaron. We questioned whether it was even appropriate to return to film after the fire. But Aaron helped guide us forward. He went on to compete, and win, at an international adaptive surfing event not long after the fire. Still, our film never suggests trophies represent healing, or that resilience erases pain, or trauma. Our story isn't about victory in a traditional sense. It’s about the ocean where Aaron finds balance and healing, and connections to his community and larger world. And about staying in relationship with loss and uncertainty, community, and place.
