Shuuluk Leo-Retz

An Indigenous surf film that celebrates the timeless bond between humanity and the ocean, “Haagua” follows a group of Native American surfers as they revive ancestral traditions, blending cultural resilience with the cultural art of surfing to honor the past and inspire the future.

A short documentary film that explores the history of how military technology and atomic testing became entangled in contemporary surfing amongst the beaches of the San Diego area. Using vérité footage and animation, the film follows Shuuluk, a Kumeyaay surfer, who interacts daily with the resulting effects and complexities of occupation on his land and in his sport, and reclaims it as a practice of joy, play, and connection.