NOTE: Project is still in fundraising stage.
THE FILM
“Into the Barrel”
Albert Lin paddles out into the ocean on a surfboard.
As an explorer and scientist, Albert has traveled the world, explored ancient tombs and discovered lost pyramids. But now he’s on a very personal mission.
He is searching for a wave — a wave that he believes will transport him to another dimension — he wants to get barreled (surf inside the curl of the wave).
This film follows Albert as he attempts to pull off one of the most dangerous maneuvers in surfing and apex of the sport — riding a barrel. This famously spiritual experience of riding inside a wave, will be the culmination of an adventure of discovery that all started when Albert lost his right leg in a car accident five years ago.
It’s a journey that has seen Albert use his knowledge of science and technology to overcome this life altering experience. From the moment he chose to have his leg amputated to his battle with the resulting phantom leg pain, we see Albert learning to walk again and become his own scientific guinea pig as he attempts to re-wire his brain using radical clinical techniques. From his use of the latest cutting edge bionic technology to the way he has harnessed the power of ancient religious ceremonies — we delve deep into Albert’s mind to reveal this incredible story of resilience, of exploration and the power of belief.
This is a film about surfing, that isn’t about surfing at all.
It’s a film about how, even though we have no control over what life throws at us, we always have the ability to choose how we react.
THE SCIENCE
Psilocybin – Prosthesis – Flow State
Ever since he was a child Albert has always dreamed of riding a barrel wave, yet he never managed to achieve it before his accident. Now, with the help of cutting edge technology and they very best mentors from the surfing community — including pro surfer Mike Coots who lost his leg in a shark attack — he travels across America and the Pacific Ocean in search of his wave.
As we follow Albert on his quest to achieve his dream, we roll back and reveal the incredible journey he has gone on to get here.
It is a story of scientific experimentation, precision engineering and spiritual enlightenment which has taken Albert from the laboratories of the University of California San Diego to the jungles of Mexico and even the burning ghats of Varanasi in India.
The film will explore the techniques and science Albert is using to help him conquer the wave, and how these same methods helped him learn to walk again and even put to bed the trauma that came from his accident.
Learn more about the science behind Albert here.
THE JOURNEY
Albert’s Journey
Albert’s journey has forced him to investigate the complex, and at times flawed, way our mind communicates with our physical body — in a very personal way. After losing his leg Albert not only had to teach his brain and legs how to walk again he also had to contend with the bizarre condition known as phantom limb pain. This debilitating condition saw Albert suffer severe pain in a leg that was no longer there — a condition that 80% of amputees suffer from.
Teaming up with a word leading neuroscientist, Albert pioneered a new method of rewiring the brain and removing the pain — a method that is now the central part of a 1.3 million dollar medical trial.
The desire to get back out into the ocean on a surf board was what propelled Albert to push on through the set backs, dead ends and miscalculations. The ocean, with its wild power, cannot be embraced. It keeps coming, wave after wave. Yet though it cannot be tamed, it can be harnessed. This is a lesson for us all — we can’t control the hand we are dealt in life, but we can control how we react to it.
This will be a moving portrait of pain and trauma that reveals just how remarkable the human mind, body and spirit really are.