A teenage girl dreams of surfing from an Okanagan RV Park in Wild Goat Surf. Rell Anderson (Shayelin Martin), who prefers going by the nickname “Goat,” is a 13-year-old skater girl, living at an RV Park in the Okanagan town of Penticton. While her mother Jane (Caitlyn Sponheimer) works multiple jobs to save money for a better life on Vancouver Island, Goat gets into trouble with fellow RV Park resident Nate Owenes (Leandro Guedes). Goat also spends her time dreaming of surfing, which was her late father’s career.
Wild Goat Surf Synopsis
Wild Goat Surf is a coming-of-age drama written, directed by, and co-starring Caitlyn Sponheimer. Sponheimer plays Jane, a down-on-her-luck single mother, who sublets her house during the summer, while she is allowed to live in an RV Park free of charge by the proprietor Sharon (Trish Allen). As Jane works as a hairstylist during the day and a waitress at a bar with her friend Erin (Brittany Drisdelle) at night, her daughter Goat is often left on her own at the RV Park. Goat often commits petty crimes, such as shoplifting surfing magazines and stealing quarters from arcade machines, while hanging out with her friend Nate and pining over the “Hot Dude” Jason Beaus (Dyllon Burnside), who is passing through Penticton on his way to Vancouver Island.
My Thoughts on Wild Goat Surf
Wild Goat Surf is similar to 2015’s Sleeping Giant, another teen-focused coming-of-age story set throughout a single summer. The film is built around the performance of teenage newcomer Shayelin Martin, who throughout the film often dreams of celebrity surfers giving her sage advice. The film also tackles poverty and social status issues, as Goat and Jane try to hide their impoverished status from the more wealthy tourists inside the RV Park. Overall, Wild Goat Surf is worth checking out.
