With no previous cycling experience, Johanna Brebner sets out to bike the length of her childhood home, Aotearoa New Zealand, with a surfboard in tow. Returning after a decade away, she packs her life onto a bike and travels more than 2,000 kilometres across the country in search of reconnection and a few waves along the way.
Produced by needessentials, Spaces in Between is a feature documentary that follows Johanna on a surfing and cycling journey across Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a portrait of slow travel: of challenge, endurance, new friendships, and the exhilaration of landscape. Beyond the pursuit of waves, the film explores what it means to experience a place over time, revealing the stories, connections, and moments that emerge in the spaces in between.
Executive Producer: Ryan Scanlon Cinematography: Milo Inglis & Cameron Haylock Additional Footage: Ishka Folkwell, Johanna Brebner, Heath Scanlon, Hahnee Chelkowski, Joseph Elijah Daniel & Clementine Bourke
The day looked cooked after Mason snapped his entire quiver and took a few heavy beatings on the sand. Packing it in was on the cards — until a generous New Yorker tossed him the keys to a 6'9" Simon Jones channel-bottom twin fin. Suddenly, there were more waves to be had.
This is the full session.
The final wave from this strike mission made the cut in SNAPT5, so catch that on YouTube.
In her latest film, Gifts from the Blue ~ Blessings from Our Mother, Tahlija Redgard reflects on the life she has created and celebrates the people who have walked that path alongside her.
The birds are playing in the trees, celebrating the grace and joy of a new day, the happiness of a fresh beginning. The morning has begun for them too. Needing to eat and feast, they will most likely find just enough to get by for the day. Some days will be plentiful, others more barren — the balance of this ecosystem we’re all living in, so fragile yet so abundant. I’m thinking about how lucky we all are to call this place home.
I’ve always been big on swapping food. As a little girl of six, Dad would get me to ride my bike around the neighbourhood delivering fish. But the one memory that has always stayed with me was our beautiful neighbour. She was in her late seventies and would always swap me a cuppa and as many biscuits as I could eat. We’d sit together, dunk our biccies, and talk about our day. Today, I swap fish with my close friends and people who are truly grateful. We trade fish for fruit, veggies, honey and nuts, or even for someone’s time and help. It makes my heart sing. To give is the most rewarding feeling of all, especially when nature gifts it to us so freely.
This is a short film about love, gratitude and the abundance that surrounds us every day in our beautiful home country.
This film captures the love of my own beautiful mumma, who gifted me this life. The title, Gifts from the Blue ~ Blessings from Our Mother, reflects the deep love I have for my birth mother, as well as the profound love I share with our Mother Ocean, and how truly precious this time is that we all get to call our own.
My dearest friend, Anna, is one of my greatest inspirations, both in and out of the ocean. She is a true waterwoman, sailor, adventurer, activist, and, most of all, one of the most beautiful women and mothers I’ve ever been blessed to know. We’ve shared years of love, laughter and life in and out of the ocean, learning from one another and gathering life’s lessons together.
Anna has passed down her knowledge to her beautiful little tribe, Zephyr and Chilli — the true essence of what it means to be free. They both carry such deep awareness and wisdom of their own, treading softly on our beautiful home planet.
We head down the road with friend and shaper Chris Garrett, sharing a glimpse into our journey on a board I pulled from the roof of his shed that he shaped and crafted some 15 years ago. It seemed the board still had a few more years left in her, and she found a new home in my truck and on the road. Together, we shared a new chapter after she had spent all those years covered in dust.
A short film. A glimpse into my story, and the people and places I call home.
Created ~ Edited ~ Produced ~ by Tahlija Redgard
featuring ~ Anna Taylor – Zephyr – Chilli
featuring ~ Bryce Young
featuring ~ Bernadette Hazzard
featuring ~ Chris Garrett – Jane Garrett – Sally Garrett
featuring ~ J.M.
In a world that often feels oversubscribed with negative news, take a moment to soak this one in — a story of resilience and perseverance.
Aussie surfer Kai McKenzie has returned to the waves (not for the first time) after a shark attack claimed his right leg.
Kai McKenzie’s story has become one of extraordinary resilience and hope. After surviving a brutal shark attack that cost him his leg, Kai refused to let the ocean become a place of fear. Months into his recovery, he made the powerful decision to return to the water — paddling out again at the very break where his life changed forever. His return to surfing wasn’t about denying what happened, but about reclaiming what he loves, proving that trauma doesn’t get the final word. Through grit, humour, and an unbreakable spirit, Kai has shown that resilience isn’t just surviving the worst moments, but choosing to move forward anyway, offering inspiration to surfers and non-surfers alike.
Check out the recent clip of him shredding — in his own words, “I lost my leg, but I didn’t lose surfing.”
