GRACIEGIRL LLC

P.O. Box 1530
Santa Barbara, CA 93102
805-708-4608 /

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNIQUE FILM SHINES A LIGHT ON SURF PIONEER AND ICON, MARGE CALHOUN (1924 – 2017)

93 – Letters from Marge
is a new film about the 1958 Makaha International Champion and told through letters she wrote during the last years of her life.

(SANTA BARBARA, CA. – March 2020)
“Catch a wave for me!” “Love and Aloha” “Never Stop Lady!” are just some of the phrases that Marge Calhoun wrote down when she signed off in her many letters to a friend. Her friend happened to be surf documentary filmmaker, Heather Hudson. So when Marge Calhoun passed away in 2017 at the age of 93, the Santa Barbara based filmmaker was inspired to create a film in her honor and to tell her stories in Marge’s own words from the handwritten letters.

The film chronicles stories from Marge Calhoun’s adventurous life that began in a little Hollywood cottage to her last days while sitting in her home next to a “picture window” with views to the sea and Morro Bay, CA. Though age had taken a toll on her body, Marge’s mind was sharp and could take her anywhere she wanted to go. And “Go” does, back in time to the waves of Malibu, Makaha & Mavericks to name a few! The film features archival footage and photos by vintage surf photographers Bud Browne, Don James, Leroy Grannis, Ron Church and more. The film includes a soundtrack of upbeat and inspiring music by various California artists and highlighted with an original theme song, “Salty Utopia,” written and performed by up and coming Ventura based surf sisters, Annalie & Malia Ilagan.

Marge Calhoun loved the ocean, surfing and especially BIG waves! Her glass was half full, not empty. She offers words of encouragement and expresses a joy of life and the fact that one is never too old to enjoy the ocean and as Marge says, “the gifts from the powers that be.”

“Marge had such an amazing positive attitude and a gratitude for life!” says Heather Hudson, “I wanted to make a film that honors this positive female role model, a woman whose bright light never dimmed even as she ventured into old age.”

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