Sydney, NSW/Australia  – Destination NSW, in partnership with the O’Neill Sydney Surf Film Festival (SSFF), today announced that January 20, 2015 will be the opening date of the inaugural surf film festival.

A spectacular two week celebration of surf cinema and culture in Australia’s original surf city, the first year of the O’Neill Sydney Surf Film Festival will hit Sydney’s iconic surfing destinations of Manly and Bondi.

“We are so pleased to be launching SSFF in the peak of summer across the beach communities of Sydney. Having an international reputation as both a leading city within the global surf industry and as an epicenter for surf tourism, Sydney really is the heart of Australian surfing with incredible surf breaks so close to the city. Surfing is part of the lifestyle many of us live everyday,” said SSFF Event Director Nick Stevenson.

Stevenson added, “Filmmaking has been at the heart of the surf industry since its inception, with classic films such as Bruce Brown’s ‘The Endless Summer’ to Kai Neville’s ‘Dear Suburbia’. Surf films shape and influence generations of surfers and part of the vision for establishing the festival was to share a wide and diverse line up of Australian and international films with the public of Sydney.”

“We hope that SSFF will become an annual event on every Australian surfers calendar and a key drawcard to come visit this beautiful city and experience the best Australian and international surf films on the big screen. It’s an exciting time for surfing and the city of Sydney. Having SSFF finish the week before the Australian Open of Surfing, this summer is going to be huge!”

After weeks of deliberation, the official selection of films for 2015 was decided by the festivals screening panel of surf industry personalities including Joel Coleman, Stuart Nettle and Paul Witzig.

The screening panel worked their way through the film submissions to put together a program of diverse Australian and international surf films showcasing spectacular surfing, in depth documentaries and unique surfing experiences.

The O’Neill Sydney Film Festival will launch at The Bucket List right on Bondi Beach followed by two weeks of film screenings in Bondi Pavilion and ICMS in Manly. A line up of satellite events, parties and photographic exhibitions are also included in the festival program, tickets and full details are at www.ssff.com.au