Tide to Nature

Watch the film at waterbear.com

Tide to Nature is a short film exploring how a bond to nature can have an extremely positive impact on oneself. It tells the story of my struggle with dyslexia and how that struggle was turned on its head when I learnt to surf. It shows how one can harness the positivity of nature to nourish and guide themselves through life.

In 2021 I entered this story into a film idea competition - Rescript the Future - run by WaterBear and The Aegean Film Festival. Somehow I managed to win this competition! And over the last year I have worked on the film with the WaterBear production team. With the help of many others I’ve learnt about every step in making a short film, taking on the role of writing and directing. It’s been a truly amazing experience, I thank everyone who’s been a part of it and helped out along the way, I couldn’t have hoped for anything better!

You can watch the film at waterbear.com, it’s free to sign up and make an account, and there are over 800 other environmental films to watch!

I’m proud to say that the film is a Albert Certified Sustainable Production. And even more proud to say that all the crew were local to the shooting of the film (apart from the WaterBear production team).

Writer & Director - Oli Riley

Production WaterBear Network:

Executive Producer - Ellen Windemuth

Head of WaterBear Studios - Andrea Walji

Producer - Tilly Compton

Director of Photography - Greg Dennis

Editor - Matilda Harding-Kemp

Composer - Barnaby Taylor

Sound Operator - Matthew Collington

Stills Photographer - Conor McDonnell

Sound Design & Colour Grade - Greg Dennis

DOP for GROW - Felix Schmilinsky

Additional Footage - Luke Pillbeam

A Massive Thanks to:

My Parents - Jo & Rob Riley; Soul Farm, Grow Charity, The Wave Project, St Ives Surf School, Saints Boardriders; Mick, Di, and Bobby Smith; Oli & Angela Noverraz; Perry and Sally Morrison, Matthew Harmer, Abi Manson