Behind the Scenes: Riding The Sardine Run

In December 2024, FCS presented the film Riding The Sardine Run by Now Now Media.

Riding The Sardine Run tells the story of a group of surfers chasing waves along a remote stretch of the South African coastline during the annual sardine run. This spectacular journey begins among the kelp forests of Cape Town and takes us past Jeffreys Bay, along the cliff-lined Wild Coast and finally reaching the sub-tropical barrels of KwaZulu-Natal.

Also known as The Greatest Shoal on Earth, the sardine run is the largest marine wildlife migration on the planet and sees billions of these tiny fish travelling up the east coast of South Africa every year as thousands of hungry sharks, dolphins, whales and seabirds give chase.

Below, Alan Van Gysen offers a behind-the-scenes insight into his involvement in Now Now Media's RidingThe Sardine Run documentary, sharing some of the challenges and unique moments from the shoot.

How did you get into surfing?

The first two times my parents took me to the beach - the second being one of my earliest memories as a child, I hated it. The wind, the sand, the cold… it was not a good start. Until about 13 years old I was genuinely terrified of the ocean. The big waves, the deep unknown… but then something changed, and the unknown lured me in to take a closer look, and I fell headlong into the world of surfing and I’ve never looked back. Now there is not a day that goes by that my wetsuit isn’t dripping on the line, and I’m not in the cold Atlantic Ocean surfing, paddling, diving, swimming, filming… it’s a special place.

How did you get into documentary film making?

I got into documentary film making after following the many breadcrumbs that were set out before me, and walking by faith rather than by sight to embrace the ever changing industry I’ve been in for just under three decades. From film-only days, to digital, digital to social, print stills to motion picture etc. And I think the love for documentaries stems from this African proverb - "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we are taught”. It’s about the relationship between love, understanding, and learning.

Can you describe the overall vision or theme you wanted to explore in the documentary? How did you bring that vision to life on screen?

The overall vision for the film was to document and showcase the world's greatest migration of marine animals - the sardine run, through the eyes of a group of traveling surfers while they gave chase of the seasonal winter waves from Cape Town to Durban in a realtime, cinéma vérité style film that is set along one of the oldest, traditional tribe lands in the world.

What was the most challenging aspect of filming a surf documentary, and how did you overcome it?

The most challenging aspect of filming a surf documentary is always finding and getting surf. In one of the world's most unpredictable environments, being in the right place at the right time often feels near impossible when you need tides, winds, swells, sand and wildlife to come together in just the right mix. It’s the complete opposite of a scripted and controlled feature film.

What was the most difficult shot or scene to capture? Were there any unexpected challenges when shooting in the water?

The most difficult shot or scene to capture in ‘Riding The Sardine Run’ was to try and get a surfer on a wave with either sardines in frame or another marine animal like a shark or dolphin. Admittedly, we didn’t quite nail it, but I was still stoked we managed to get amazing footage of everything, and once edited together showcased the epic adventure the sardine run is.

Can you share a memorable behind-the-scenes moment that happened during the production of this documentary?

I think the most memorable “behind-the-scenes” moments were the early mornings before sunrise up on the hill with a cup of coffee in hand and my camera set up for the magical colours and sounds of the birds flying from aloe to aloe, and the peaceful stillness of a new day starting. It’s truly old earth stuff on the Wild Coast.

Did you face any logistical or environmental hurdles while filming in certain locations, like weather or surf conditions? How did that impact your schedule or the shoot?

We faced many logistical and environmental hurdles while filming for the documentary. One of the most intense storms to hit the Wild Coast and Durban hit right before we arrived, causing massive flooding, a tornado in Durban, unbelievable thunder storms, and massive amount of erosion due to the flooding which ripped away any sand banks we had planned and hoped would provide good surf for the surfing part of the adventure. Fortunately Africa teaches one to be quite resilient and resourceful, so we managed to find enough surf and Will Bendix our editor worked tirelessly to bring a number of things together to give us the final film.