Our Hawaii (2010)

"Our Hawaii" follows a group of neighborhood surfer buddies, now in their 40's and 50's, as they re-visit key moments of their lives spent riding the waves of Rockaway Beach, Queens. Within a conservative, blue-collar community cut off from the rest of New York City, Rockaway's bleak beaches offered these locals a place of freedom, self expression and bonding. Against the backdrop of a once-vibrant seaside resort area turned urban wasteland, Our Hawaii chronicles how - through the upheaval of the Vietnam War, the losses of 9/11 and all the changes in between - their connection to each other has been kept alive by a love of surfing.