by FilmInk Staff
4 x World Champion, Matt Formston, rides 50ft wave into the record books for new feature length documentary ‘The Blind Sea’, premiering on Netflix from March 1st
Four-time para surfing World Champion, former Paralympic Cyclist and World Champion, Matt Formston, has taken his quest for sporting greatness to new heights, setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest wave surfed by a vision impaired male (IS2), captured in the new feature-length documentary, The Blind Sea, streaming on Netflix from March 1.
At the age of five, Matt was diagnosed with Macular Dystrophy, a rare eye condition that left him with 3% vision, and a desire ever since to do what everyone else says can’t be done. An avid surfer since his childhood growing up on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, so, when the opportunity arises to go head-to-head with the world’s biggest and most dangerous waves at Portugal’s infamous Nazaré, family fears, super storms, injuries, and a lifetime of doubters won’t stand in the way of Matt’s relentless determination to break through life’s latest obstacle.
Alongside surfing insights from World Champions Layne Beachley AO, Sam Bloom, Joel Parkinson and big wave legends Lucas ‘Chumbo’ Chianca and Dylan Longbottom, Matt’s parents, his wife, and children offer an intimate and revealing glance into the mind and motivations of a man for whom being the best is never enough.
Written, directed, and edited by award-winning filmmaker, Daniel Fenech, THE BLIND SEA combines intimate portrait with epic action to produce a film that has to be heard every bit as much as seen.
On his decision to take on Nazaré and the film, Matt Formston says: “To the people who have a disability, I want to show them some of the processes I use to find a way through life’s obstacles. “And to the people who don’t have a disability, I want to show them that having a disability doesn’t mean accepting a lifetime of limitations. If I’ve been able to do the things I have with a disability, then maybe we’re all capable of more than other people would like us to believe.”
Enjoying a sold-out season at the Sydney Film Festival for its World Premiere, THE BLIND SEA has become a fan favourite at festivals around the world, where it picked up the award for MOST IMPACTFUL FILM at the Portuguese Surf Film Festival.
THE BLIND SEA will be streaming nationwide on Netflix from March 1st
