IN 2014 filmmaker Michael Dyrland visited his childhood friend in LA. He was excited to go surfing, but when it rained and he asked his friend if they could still go (being from Washington state Michael is quite used to rain) his friend asked if he was crazy. Not just because it was raining, but because in LA no one surfs when it rains — since it rains so infrequently, the run-off usually contains sewage and garbage and other waste product, and there’s a literal chance of getting MRSA, hep C, virus, or a respiratory infection.
Photo: Dyrland Productions
HAZMAT Surfing: A Dystopian Imagining of Where We Might Be Headed
This gave Dyrland an idea: When he returned to Bellingham he set about producing a short film that highlighted the decreasing quality of the world’s oceans. The surfers wearing HAZMAT suits is a visual slap-in-the-face forcing us to ponder what it might really be like if we continue to poison our environment. 