Los Angeles Journal


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2008-04-09

by John Esther

Interview: Sunny Abberton

Summary

Bra Boys offers a different kind of support group

Article

Born under the punches of longstanding English colonialism, broken homes and beautiful bold waves, the young males of Maroubra, Australia, have known little in the way of social equalities while simultaneously producing some of the best surfers in the world. Surfing greats like Koby Abberton, one of the main characters in Bra Boys, a documentary co-directed by his brother, Sunny, and Macario De Souza.

Labeled “a gang” by authorities and some media, the Bra Boys are a local group of Maroubra males largely connected by a working class ethic (or ethnic) that prefers the ocean to an office or any other form of labor (Bra can refer to the “bra” in Maroubra and stand for the acronym for Board Riders Association). Without protection from the police or outsiders, these Maroubra males have dedicated themselves to looking out for each other.

A highly vocal and often violence group, the Bra Boys represent a threat to the social order that created them, and rightly so. But who else is going to look out for their rights? Not the police or courts who seem law-bent on tossing them into jail–same as it ever was.
Narrated by actor Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind; American Gangster), Bra Boys highly subjective documentary explores what it means to live on the mean streets of Maroubra where local cops and antagonistic outsiders continually hassle the local tough boys. While it looks at Bra Boys in general, Bra Boys focuses on three of the Abberton brothers — one charged with murder and another one whom is accused of protecting his brother.
In this exclusive interview, we spoke to the professional surfer-turned-documentarian Sunny about the obvious and not so obvious aspects of Bra Boys.

Los Angeles Journal: Sunny, why did you want to make this documentary?
Sunny Abberton: I turned professional at age 15 and had visited surf cultures around the world. I realized there was something special about Maroubra Beach. There had been ongoing tension between the police and the surf community. After the brawl happened, it was time to tell our side of the story.

LAJ: Considering your relation to the subject matter, how were you able to remain objective? What efforts did you make to interview critics on camera?
SA: I started making this documentary six months prior to the trial. I tried to interview the police, the local council, etc. In making the documentary, we stuck to the facts, to how the law and the media portrayed the story. We didn't care if the public or the police liked us.

LAJ: For many in the surfing community, the potential for violence ends at the shoreline. What is it about the ocean or surfing that washes that anger away?
SA: One of the reasons we made the documentary was that the Bra Boys were a band of kids with no support or no money that has produced at least a dozen of the world's best surfers, big wave surfers, and other professional athletes. The ocean was an outlet. We're trying to get the message across to kids that if you can find an outlet, you have a chance. If we didn't have the older guys from the beach directing us to the ocean--without their mentoring, we would have been dead or in jail.

LAJ: The documentary shows a strain between being simultaneously inclusive and provincial. In the end the documentary asks people to be respective of a local culture as it shows the diversity of Maroubra. What should locals do about “outsiders”?
SA: Maroubra has been in a unique position because of its historical background at the forefront of the surf community. We were the first community to embrace the migrant communities in the culture. That's why we were able to call for peace during the race riots.

LAJ: The Bra Boys are a contemporary result of hundred years of class warfare. How can successful professional surfers like your brother, Koby, who seems very keen on making money in the documentary, give back to the economically challenged community?
SA: The first thing we did after we made the dccumentary was to set up the Mavis Abbertson Foundation - after Ma. Her attitude was it didn't matter how much money you had, your life was important.

LAJ: Along those classist lines, the documentary has been criticized for its lack of technical virtuosity. What is your response to that?
SA: With the documentary we are trying to tell a story---to make it like the audience was there. We also made the film on a shoestring budget.

LAJ: Outside of Ma and a couple of “local moms,” there are no women featured in the documentary. Why? What role do females play in the local culture?
SA: Women do play a huge role. We realized we may be criticized for the lack of women in the film, but most of the Bra Boys have married women they grew up with. Until recently there haven't been that many women surfers.

LAJ: There are strong and multiple undercurrents of homosexuality and homoeroticism in Bra Boys. What role do gay men play in the Maroubra surfing culture?
SA: I don't think there is a strong homosexual undercurrent in Bra Boys. Surfing has been dominated by males. I don't know the statistics, but I assume the numbers of homosexuals would be the same as across all populations.

LAJ: In what ways do non-Australian audiences respond to BraBoys differently from Australians?
SA: We were nervous when we brought this film to America that audiences would react differently, but they react the same as they did in Australia. We're trying to take audiences on a ride.

LAJ: Why did you want Russell Crowe to narrate Bra Boys? How did you get him to do it?
SA: We wanted to get Russell Crowe to narrate because it isn't just a surf story. We wanted to get it to mainstream audiences. No one pulls it off as good as he does. The way he became involved was that one of the Bra Boys played in a rugby league with him and told him about the film. Russell got in touch with Koby and called him about three times and Koby thought it was someone joking and hung up on him. Once we realized he was serious and talked to him, he agreed to narrate the film.

LAJ: What do surfing and documentary filmmaking have in common?
SA: I was on tour since I was 15 years old and learned aspects of filmmaking. On tour it's about making money from photos and videos and I was always asking questions and learning. When I retired from surfing, I decided to do my own documentary.

LAJ: What can you tell us about your next project?
SA: In addition to working on the feature adaptation of Bra Boys that Russell Crowe is directing, I'm also working on a story about an Australian rebellion.

LAJ: Lastly, how are the Abbertons doing since the documentary was finished?
SA: It's been a wild ride for the Abbertons. We didn't know how people would react to the film. It's been a pretty dramatic turn - a roller coaster.