Sunday night saw world-class surfer Lakey Peterson usher in a new dawn in her career and marked the beginning of a new frontier for women’s surfing.
The Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour surfer and 2012 U.S. Open champion premiered her first feature-length film, Lakey Peterson — Zero to 100, at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on Sunday.
A private VIP party at the Wine Cask preceded the event, and proceeds from the night benefited the Cottage Hospital Children’s Oncology Program.
Zero to 100 chronicles the rapid rise of one the industries most talented and progressive female surfers.
With incredible cinematography, including aerial footage shot from helicopters and drones, the film offers more than just great waves and surfing. It offers viewers a very raw and intimate look into Peterson’s personal life and how she handles fame and life on the road at such a young age.
“The ultimate message is to inspire people to be happy with their lives,” Peterson said. “If you’re giving 100 percent and enjoying the ride, then you are living the life.”
This was a message echoed in Antoine Allain’s live performance from his song featured on the soundtrack: “The life that I’m living, Is the life that I’m loving, And I wouldn’t trade it for nothing.”
With a crowd of 650 in attendance and hundreds turned away at the door, there was no shortage of action or energy on the night. Peterson’s official sponsor, Hurley, was on-site screening surf films and printing T-shirts from its “Customization Truck,” along with a host of other supporting sponsor booths.
“Most surf films sell half their tickets on the night, and the theater told us this in advance” said Peterson’s father, Dave Peterson. “We felt confident the show would sell, but we never expected the frenzy for tickets that happened after it sold out five days early. It was a huge boost for everyone involved in the film.”
Los Angeles-based pop singer/songwriter Kylie Rose rocked the house when she took to the stage and the film was followed by a live Q&A with Peterson, filmmaker Aaron Lieber and co-editor John Sinclair. The soundtrack was a hot topic at the end of the night. It featured up-and-coming musicians, alongside international artists like AWOLNATION, The Jezebels and Donavon Frankenreiter.
“There are artists at every stage of their career on the soundtrack,” Lieber said. “What was important to me was the sound and story behind the music and how that played into the films bigger message.”
Lieber spent one year on the road with Peterson during her rookie year, filming the many competition lows and ending with her epic finish as U.S. Open champion at Huntington Beach last August.
“It really could not have ended any better if I scripted it myself,” Lieber said. “I believed in Lakey and took a risk dedicating a year to this project, but in the end the risk paid off.”
When asked “Where to next?,” Lieber replied, “Zero to 100 will screen during the Roxy Pro in Australia in March and then back to the U.S. for its largest screening at Bella Terra, Huntington Beach on April 28. The April 28 screening will coincide with its international release on iTunes, and we also have it lined up for several film festivals in the U.S. and overseas.”
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