Haagua Official Movie poster
Haagua, an Indigenous Surf Film
We are now booking Haagua for 2026 screenings, Director Presentations, and panel discussions. Film is appropriate for all ages K-16 and beyond. Email us to schedule.
World Tour Awards, Community Impact:
Paris International Film Festival “Best Photography”,
Mexico Surf Film Festival, “1st Place Best Film”.
Carmel International Film Festival “Best Short Film”, Int’nl,Indigenous Culture, Film Festival, Turkey “Best Film Grand Prix”
Sugar Loaf Film Festival “BEST ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY”
The Huntington Beach Cultural Film Festival “Best Film”
City of Angeles Film Festival “Best Short Documentary”
Montreal International Film Festival “Winner”
Social Justice Film Festival “Community Impact Award”
Save The Waves Film Festival 2026 World Tour Official Selection
Mauriland Film Festival “Official Selection”
Wailuku Film Festival
Honolulu Surf Film Festival “Official Selection”
Jim Thorpe Film Festival
Santa Monica Film Festival “Finalist”
Oceanic Global Film Festival, Winner
Native Visions Film Festival
Haagua Official Movie Trailer. An Indigenous Surf Film Produced by Native Like Water, Directed by Octavio Coutiño Aceves and Marc Antony Chavez. A 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. .
Haagua Indigenous Surf Film Story
A first in Native America, the story of Haagua illustrates history and culture widely.
“Haagua” explores the profound bond personified by Great Great Grandmother Ocean played by Jacinda Townsend (Cahuilla) and her unborn son, played by Shuuluk Leo-Retz (Kumeyaay). Through voices from the past and prayers for the future, the film traces the enduring memory of survival that connects generations. Surfing emerges not merely as a sport but as a rediscovery of cultural practices and a revival of an original way of life. This cultural regeneration comes to life through the journeys of featured Indigenous surfers, including Andy Nieblas (Acjachemen), David Flores Ramos (Coastal Sierra Nahua), Kaliko Kahoonei (Hawaiian), Shuuluk Leo-Retz (Kumeyaay), Amon B. Chavez (Nahua-Carib), Reg Macarro (Payomkawichum-Ojibwe), Liam Walsh (Payomkawichum) and Marc Chavez (Nahua-Xicano). Together, they embody a modern resurgence of ancestral wisdom, blending tradition with the rhythm of the waves in a story of resilience, identity, and connection.
Please contact us for private screening in your community as Haagua begins its community impact tour.
Below our a few venues and laurel awards from Haagua’s 2025 Festival premiers and debut internationally.
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