Local riders set for screen

If the new surf film “Enter Imbroglio” had a motto, it would be, “Keep it local.”

Before frequent-flier miles and Web cameras, surfing movies were often the only way beach bums were exposed to breaks beyond our borders.

A trip to Oahu’s North Shore was expensive enough ? a safari to South Africa or Indonesia seemed practically impossible.

Surfers learned about spots like Cloudbreak and Waimea Bay through filmmakers including Bruce Brown and later locals like Timmy Turner, who explored remote islands in Indonesia in search of the perfect barrel.

The surf-film genre was a bridge between surfers and the rest of the oceanic world, but some say it might have given the public a false idea of what waves are really like.

“Some people think every wave looks like Pipeline,” said Huntington Beach surfer Jesse Evans, referring to the popular break in Oahu, Hawaii. “This is a movie that showed what can be done in our hometown. Stuff that kids could watch and get stoked on before going out.”

Evans and four other surfers star in “Enter Imbroglio,” which focuses on the Huntington Beach surfing scene. Shot and directed over three years by Newport Beach Firefighter Grant Parsons, the film showcases high-performance surfing with local pros like Evans, Micah Byrne and Ted Navarro.

“I just wanted to give these guys a little bigger exposure,” Parsons said. “They get a lot of shots in the magazines, but you don’t see them in the videos too much. I wanted to help these guys out and showcase the talent here in H.B.”

Huntington Beach is considered by many to be the capitol of American surfing, but other coastal communities are getting more recognition for their local talent. Ventura surfer Dane Reynolds is seeing a huge increase in popularity as the adopted apprentice of seven-time world champion Kelly Slater, and the public is still captivated by Santa Cruz’s surfers and their annual assault on the big waves at Mavericks.

“You’re not going to see any tow-in surfing in this video,” said Evans as he watched an incoming set on the Huntington Beach Pier’s south side. Instead, expect the high-performance Huntington Beach style ? lots of big snap backs, drops, floaters, aerials and the occasional barrel ride.

“This vid proves that Huntington Beach is the ultimate breeding ground for surfers,” said Leslie Carlos, co-owner of Big Red Productions, which is screening the movie.

Surfer Brett Simpson, who appears in the film, was recently named the 2005 triple crown rookie of the year, while Timmy Reyes, another local favorite with some footage in “Enter Imbroglio,” is enjoying his second run on the World Championship Tour with the world’s top 48 surfers.

“This video really needed to be done,” said Byrne, who said he thinks the audience will enjoy the film’s familiarity. About 90% of the footage is shot at the pier, along with shots of life along Main Street and other familiar spots. After years of seeing films made in Australia and Hawaii, Byrne said it will be cool to see local haunts like Sugar Shack and Ruby’s on the big screen.