DESERT RATS

DESERT RATS

2025 - 45 min

France/Australia - VOSTFR

Three surfers. Nine thousand kilometers. Three weeks in the middle of nowhere.

Between endless roads, fear creeping in, and constant laughter, DESERT RATS tells the story of a wild road trip at the edge of the world — deep in a land as breathtaking as it is unforgiving, where great white sharks are a constant reminder that you’re only a guest passing through.

In DESERT RATS, William Aliotti — one of the world’s most creative free surfers — teams up with Pierre Caley — a former lifeguard in Australia and big-wave surfer — and Matt Hollman, his longtime friend, also a local lifeguard and surfer.

Their mission: to chase down slabs — those raw, heavy waves that detonate right on the reef, unpredictable and punishing.

Between spectacular landscapes, missed sessions, close encounters with sharks, and bursts of unfiltered camaraderie, the trip turns into a deeply human adventure where patience, friendship, and self-deprecation take over.

Until, of course, the long-awaited swell finally arrives — just after William leaves.

DESERT RATS captures surfing as it’s truly lived: unpredictable, sometimes cruel, yet always full of hope.

Far from postcard clichés, the film sheds light on the long waits, the raw beauty of remote coastlines, and the visceral fear that comes with sharing the ocean with apex predators.

Somewhere between wandering, humor, and pure adrenaline, this film is as much a tribute to friendship as it is to the freedom of chasing waves in the world’s most extreme conditions.

Executive Producer: Guillaume Dartenuc
Surfers: William Aliotti, Pierre Caley, Matt Hollman
Cinematography: Beni Bagley, Kane Overall
Editing: Laura Diaz & Gabriel Boin