In pursuit of waves

LieberVision, a newly established production company in Orange County, will premiere its first surf film, “The Pursuit,” at South Coast Cinemas on Tuesday in association with Hurley.

The film, with a voiceover by surf legend Kelly Slater, follows 14 up-and-coming surfers like Brett Simpson around the globe, and features their high-performance maneuvers on waves in places like Australia, Samoa and Nicaragua “” and will be the first surf movie available on Blu-ray disc.

Aaron Lieber, avid surfer and sole proprietor of LieberVision, said making the film has been a lifelong dream.

“‘The Pursuit’ represents the drive and passion that inspires us as surfers and human beings to take risks and keep getting back up on the board even in the face of failure,” he said.

“This film demonstrates the raw passion displayed in a younger generation of surfers and is meant to resonate with the youth and encourage them to pursue their own goals and dreams both in surfing and in life.”

Lieber launched the project in collaboration with VAS Entertainment in November 2006. He’s traveled the world since then to capture his subjects in some of the best surf locations.

“The experience of making this film has been priceless,” he said. “Through trial and error I think I’ve learned the ins and outs of how to make a surf film, and I got to travel around the world.”

He said another highlight was surfing 8-foot swells in Indonesia with some of the well-respected surfers he was shooting there.

Cheyne Cottrell, a surfer who Lieber shot in Tahiti, South Africa, Nicaragua and Norway, said the project was one of his best experiences yet while filming a movie.

He said Lieber was always amped to shoot even when the conditions were poor, and had a positive attitude throughout.

“We also got to surf really great waves, which is all we could ask for,” Cottrell said.

“In Pursuit” promises mad action and an A+ soundtrack created by Lisa Richardson and Michael Saltsman, which features music from bands like Incubus and Silversun Pickups. The premiere will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Lieber expects attendees from all over the surfing community.

Lieber is a Fallbrook native and where he earned a bachelor’s in communication from Cal State Long Beach. He’s worked for RipCurl, Surfline and TransWorldSURF among other surfing companies.

He credits his friend Ian Calderon with “fine tuning” his ideas, Rip Curl and Lucas Wimer for their contributed footage, and his mom and media director of LieberVision, Caron Lieber, for bringing the project to fruition.