The film – being described as an ‘action sports documentary’ - will be launched at Ulladulla’s Arcadia Twin Cinemas this Friday night (March 23).

It will be launched in Sydney the following night with screenings also planned for Margaret River, the Gold Coast and Port Macquarie.

The film, 6MONTHS, will also be released with the April edition of Riptide.

The film follows four professional bodyboarders over a six month period last year including Donnachie, Ulladulla’s Damien Martin, Sydney’s Chris James and Wollongong’s Jase Finlay as they chase the best waves here and overseas.

It features plenty of footage from the Milton-Ulladulla region, particularly around Bawley Point.

Donnachie, 25, said most bodyboarding flicks featured music and plenty of action but fell short when it came to a storyline.

He said his aim with 6MONTHS had been to show the personalities of the bodyboarders as well as the highs, lows and inevitable frustrations of life on the road.

“It’s a celebration of what we do,” he told the Times last week.

It’s a very positive film that he hopes will inspire other young bodyboarders to get together with their mates and enjoy the beauty of nature and the excitement of travel.

Donnachie, a regular visitor to the Milton-Ulladulla region, said conditions last year had been perfect for filming.

He said it had been the best winter for bodyboarding in more than a decade, enabling them to gather a large amount of footage in a very short period of time.

Besides footage from most states of Australia, 6MONTHS will also feature footage from Fiji, Indonesia and Tahiti.

Donnachie and Martin agree that one of the highlights of the project was travelling to Tahiti.

They said everything fell into place at the right time and a massive swell hit as they were filming.

They said it was like a dream come true visiting a tropical paradise but at the same time experiencing some of the biggest and most powerful waves they had ever paddled into.

They were also filmed swimming with whales.

The two friends – who have been bodyboarding together for the past 10 years - also agree on one of the ‘lowlights’.

They told the Times that an expedition from Fiji to surf an island that had never been surfed before almost ended in disaster when they encountered 20ft ocean swells in a small boat simply not suited to the conditions.

The cabin was flooded with water and the boat almost capsized on a number of occasions.

The nine hour trip turned into a 20 hour nightmare.

“We thought we were gone,” Donnachie said.

Some of the footage of waves breaking over the boat at night has been included in the film.

While Donnachie did some of the filming himself, most of it was sourced from other shooters including Andrew Kaineder, who launched his own film ‘Launch’ at the Dunn Lewis Centre last year and who is now filming the bodyboarding world tour.

Donnachie said he ended up with about 150 hours of footage from approximately 20 different people which he has edited down to 55 minutes.

He said it was a big job but he is extremely pleased with the end result.

The public seems to agree with a Youtube trailer receiving 60,000 hits within a few of days being posted.

Donnachie said the project wouldn’t have been possible without the support of his sponsors who took a “leap of faith” considering it was his first crack at making a film.

Friday night’s screening will commence at 9.10pm and will be attended by a number of professionals including Donnachie, Martin, Matt McArthur and Glen Thurston.

The cost will be $12 with plenty of giveaways on the night including boards, fins, wetsuits and clothing. Tickets will be available at the door.

The 6MONTHS trailer can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9L6C7AAINk

Film is sure to build on our reputation

THE Milton-Ulladulla international reputation as a bodyboarding destination continues to grow according to professionals Ewan Donnachie and Damien Martin.

They said the region between Ulladulla and Bawley Point was “remarkable” for bodyboarding and was now regarded as one of the world’s premiere bodyboarding location.

They said more and more international bodyboarders were travelling to the region every winter.

A significant portion of Donnachie’s new film, 6MONTHS, was filmed locally and is likely to further enhance the region’s reputation both nationally and internationally.