In Waves

Based on AJ Dungo’s autobio-graphic novel, In Waves sits alongside Tangles as a reminder that animated films can handle grown up subject matter with sensitivity and creativity. Growing up in California, teenager AJ is your typical skater kid, but he has zero interest in riding the waves. That is, until he falls in love with Kristen, who likes nothing better, and teaches him everything he needs to know about surfing. But their romance is clouded by a cancer diagnosis which will cost Kristen her leg…

First time director Phoung Mai Nguyen employs different 2 and 3D animated techniques to switch adeptly between jumbled timelines charting different stages of Kristen’s illness, with surfing and the ocean symbolic of euphoria, love and life. Black and white sequences relate the Hawaiin mythology of surfing in vivid pen and ink sketches.

A sobering, life-affirming gem and an ode to the fears we overcome in the name of love.

Zachary Lee, rogerebert.com

An understated marvel. This is a movie that effortlessly marries primal poetry to the quotidian. Its aching heart understands that a full moon of brilliant perfection can illuminate one of the most painful moments of your life.

Sherri Linden, Hollywood Reporter

Tender and affecting… It’s a film about death and the grief that comes ’in waves’, but it’s also a picture which is infused with Kristen’s infectious zest for life.

Wendy Ide, Screen International