EMMETT MALLOY
FILM, SURF & MUSIC
On the occasion of the premiere tour we are organizing for SURFILMUSIC, the new documentary dedicated to Jack Johnson, we had the opportunity to sit down with its director, Emmett Malloy.
At the crossroads of surfing, music, and cinema, Emmett Malloy is one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation.
A member of the legendary Malloy family and a key figure in the surf film renaissance of the early 2000s, he helped shape a new way of telling stories about the ocean—more intimate, more human, and deeply connected to music.
With now-iconic films such as Thicker Than Water, The September Sessions, and A Brokedown Melody, created alongside Chris Malloy and Jack Johnson, he redefined the language of surf cinema by blending travel, friendship, creativity, and unforgettable soundtracks.
At the same time, Emmett established himself as one of the most respected music video directors in the industry, collaborating with artists as diverse as The White Stripes, Metallica, Blink-182, Vampire Weekend, and Jack Johnson.
His documentary The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights, filmed during the duo’s legendary Canadian tour, earned him a Grammy Award nomination.
A few years later, he won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film with Big Easy Express, a musical journey aboard a train crossing America with Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show.
With SURFILMUSIC, his new documentary about Jack Johnson, Emmett Malloy returns to what has always fueled his filmmaking: the meeting point between waves, music, and human stories.
It is a territory he has explored for more than twenty years, with an authenticity that has become his trademark.
– What made you want to make films?
“It all started about 25 years ago, when we were making Thicker Than Water.
I began digging through old boxes of 16mm film and archives from that era, and I discovered an incredible amount of hidden treasures.
Then, as the years went by and we entered the digital age, I became interested in making films that were accessible to audiences.
Just like with SURFILMUSIC, this project began as a simple dive into the archives, a kind of deep clean of the past.
And little by little, it evolved into something much broader and more global.”
I began digging through old boxes of 16mm film and archives from that era, and I discovered an incredible amount of hidden treasures.
-How did you and Jack Johnson meet ?
"I met Jack while filming one of Taylor Steeles signature series films called “All For One” which was about my cousins, Chris, Keith and Dan Malloy.
I was editing that film for them and Jack was their friend in film school that could run a 16mm camera.
So Jack was brought in for a day of shooting with my cousins on the central coast of California.
From there, Jack and I got a hot hand with Tayor and started shooting all the skits for his films."
– You have directed a large number of music videos. Why did you go in that direction?
Taylor Steele had all the good punk bands from Southern California on his soundtrack, and so he was really connected to all these bands like Blink, Pennywise and Unwritten Law.
They all sorta felt like Taylor put them on the map.
Unwritten Law asked Taylor if he wanted to direct their first major label video, and since we didn’t know much, Taylor asked me to help him with it.
We got 5k and we were so into it.
We got everyone we knew to help us with it and we pulled it off.
The video made it on to MTV and Taylor and I felt like we pulled off the impossible.
Then after that Taylor went on to make more surf movies and I got really into music videos.
My favorites of all-time is probably when we got to shoot Metallica in San Quentin prison or our first White Stripes video for the song “My Doorbell”.
My favorites of all-time is probably when we got to shoot Metallica in San Quentin prison
Artists + music videos directed by Emmett Malloy
– How did the idea for SURFILMUSIC come about?
"If the process of this film started with me asking Jack if he would want to do a film about him, the answer would have been a hard “no!".
But luckily, this film sorta began as an archival project to restore Thicker Than Water and September Sessions.
Then once I started to go through all the old film and recordings, the film started to naturally build itself, with no set agenda.
Then a few more things happened to really move the story along.
First was finding all the old footage from the 70’s on the North Shore that his Uncle Skill Johnson shot.
In that footage lied some incredible treasures from Jacks upbringing that played a huge part in the film.
The other factor was the loss of Jacks best friend, Tomayo Perry.
Loosing Tomayo sorta brought everyone back together again."
Photo Emmett Malloy
-What makes a great surf film today, in your opinion?
"Probably just need to put Dane Reynolds in and I am set."
- What are your top 3 surf films of all time ?
"LOOSE CHANGE - just was the perfect blend of comedy of great surfing.
LITMUS - we watched that movie a lot while making Thicker Than Water.
Just felt moodier than any surf film I had watched.
SEARCHING FOR TOM CURREN - just the magical combination of Tom Curren and Sonny Miller."
-Who are your favorite surfers ?
"Frankie Harrer
&
Mikey February "
– What music do you always associate with surfing?
"The Untouchables - Wild Child"
"If the process of this film started with me asking Jack if he would want to do a film about him, the answer would have been a hard “no!"
Photo Emmett Malloy
-What are your best memories in France ?
"Watching 20 thousand people sing Better Together through a 16mm camera viewfinder at Bercy for the making of Jack’s film “En Concert”."
– Which musicians or artists would you like to tell the story of?
"Willie Nelson and The Malloys Brothers - maybe them together would be rad ?"
Thank you Emmett.
Published on Friday, May 29, 2026