Bra Boys

Plot synopsis:
Bra Boys, the documentary, is a film about the cultural evolution of the inner-Sydney beachside suburb of Maroubra and the social struggle of its youth the tattooed and much maligned surf community known as the Bra Boys. The story is narrated by Australian actor Russell Crowe and is told through the eyes of members of the Bra Boys.It shows how the evolution of Maroubra, coupled with the historical stigma associated with Australias rebellious surf community, has contributed to their social displacement. It is a surf documentary, yet one that looks beyond the clichéd artistic beauty of the sport to expose the sometimes-troubled tale of its participants.It is the first full-length film project being undertaken by, and officially sanctioned by, the Bra Boys. It is their story. It shows their success in professional big wave surfing, it explores their international reputation for hard partying and rough justice, it touches on their running battle with authorities and it shows their absolute reliance on one another to fit into a society in which they are displaced and, at times, disinterested.Central to the story is the true-life struggle of the Abberton brothers Sunny, Koby, Jai and Dakota one charged with murdering a Sydney standover man, another pursuing a professional surf career but charged as an accessory in his brothers legal fight, another trying to hold the family together and a young brother whose inheritance is his siblings notoriety.Bra Boys, the documentary, uses archival footage shot by the Bra Boys and blends it with current surf vision and interviews to create a story that is compassionate and confronting. It is a story of contrast involving against-the-odds success and predictable failures and, ultimately, a story exploring the legacy and hopes of the next generation of Bra Boys members.SUNNY ABBERTONSunny Abberton is a 34-year-old first-time writer, director and producer.Sunny was born in Sydney, Australia, as the oldest of four brothers, and spent his formative years between Maroubras housing estates, New Zealand and a hippy commune in Nimbin. Sunny, and brothers Jai and Koby, were taught to surf by their grandfather and would find the beach their only escape from a troubled and destitute home life.Sunny showed talent as a young surfer and left school at age 15 to pursue a career in the sport. Sunny competed on the competitive ASP Pro Tour in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in which he gained a reputation as one of the best junior surfers in the world. Fortuitously, this early career path took him to countries such as Brazil and South Africa where he was introduced to class injustices and economic oppression for the first time on a global scale.While he was in Brazil, he discovered a childrens reading book written to teach the poorest Brazilian children about the Landless Movement, which was a turning point for Sunny. Through this piece of literature, he first gained an insight into the power of the arts to have the potential to enlighten and inform - particularly the young and the oppressed. Sensing parallels between the injustices experienced by the lower echelons of these societies, and the poverty he had witnessed in the housing commission estates of his native Maroubra, Sunny set out to create a voice which could inspire the youth of his own backyard. Thus the idea for BRA BOYS was born.Meanwhile, back in Maroubra, an escalation in tensions among various Sydney communities was beginning to manifest in violence on Sydneys eastern beaches. Gangs would regularly travel to the beaches and it sparked a series of bloody confrontations. The youth at Maroubra banded together to defend their beach and create a brotherhood to protect one another. Sunny was part of the resistance and, together with a small group of mates, formed a group they termed the Bra Boys.From his days on the Pro Surf tours, Sunny had a wealth of experience in front of the camera, and he used this exposure to learn the tricks of the trade, through a mixture of osmosis and curiosity. Years of filming surf travelogues on home video cameras also helped to equip him for his first feature documentary shoot.It was about six months into the filming of the documentary that his brother Jai was charged with murdering a Sydney standover man, a blow later amplified when his brother Koby was charged as an accessory after the fact. Together with a local production company Sunny spent an additional three years filming the central figures within the Bra Boys community, including the legal struggle of his two brothers.He collected hundreds of hours of film out of which the Bra Boys documentary was compiled. Sunny was the writer, producer and director of the film.As the informally appointed patriarch of both the Abberton family and then the larger group known as the Bra Boys, Sunny had always felt a deep responsibility for both the internal and external perception of the group. Through this documentary, Sunny hopes to give inspiration and a voice to the youth of Maroubra, and others in Australia who have grown up in similar circumstances, as well as provide an arena to share their experiences in a public forum.Sunny currently lives at Maroubra Beach in Sydney, Australia. BRA BOYS is his first feature film and he currently has another two projects in development, one of which is a feature adaptation of the BRA BOYS documentary.KOBY ABBERTONKoby Abberton is a 27-year-old professional surfer who has built a career as a specialist big wave charger. He is one of just a handful of surfers paid to find and surf the worlds biggest waves.He was born in Sydney, Australia, and grew up the third eldest of four brothers. He was raised in the government housing estates of Maroubra Beach, save for two years of his early childhood spent between temporary homes in New Zealand and, subsequently, a commune in Nimbin in northern New South Wales.His early years in Maroubra were spent living in the garage of his grandparents home, only moving out when his mother was issued with a small apartment in a nearby government housing estate.Koby, like his elder brothers, was taught to surf by his grandfather and found the beach the only escape from a troubled family life. He was educated at Maroubra Bay public school but, after failing to adjust to the regimented school life, he left when aged just 14. Shortly thereafter he left home after being struck with a baseball bat by his mothers heroin addicted partner. He moved from house to house, staying for extended periods with the families of his mates from the beach, before moving in with older brother Sunny. He would also go on to become a founding member of the Bra Boys surf group, a fearsome brotherhood founded at Maroubra Beach to protect the local youth from frequent incursions by various Sydney gangs seeking to attack surfers. He wears the Bra Boys tattoo proudly, along with a range of others including a large necklace tattoo with the signature words My Brothers Keeper.Koby showed early potential as a surfer, picking up a range of sponsorships before travelling internationally to compete on the World Qualifying Series (WQS) in the hope of gaining entry onto the premier World Championship Tour. However, with the WQS events generally staged in small wave locations he was finding it difficult to register strong results. That all changed when the tour headed to a new destination the little known Teahupoo reef in Tahiti for the 1999 Gotcha Pro. The waves were treacherous, with many of the more seasoned competitors fearful of the consequences of the shallow-breaking barrels. The 20-year-old Koby reveled in the conditions and went on to win the contest and cement his place as a big wave specialist.He was later sponsored by international eyewear company Oakley to continue his big wave surfing career. However, he regularly courted controversy with his fearsome reputation both in and out of the water resulting in running battles with the law. This was amplified in 2004 when he was charged with accessory after the fact in the murder of a Sydney standover man. His brother Jai had earlier been charged with murder.The fallout from the incident, coupled with a range of other controversies, saw the collapse of his sponsorship and the onset of severe financial hardship. However, he toughed it out and was found not guilty on the accessory charge but guilty on the backup charge of perverting the course of justice. He was spared a jail term and vowed to intensify his assault on the worlds biggest waves.Kobys exploits in the surf have reportedly earned him more Australian surf magazine covers than any other surfer. He has also picked up a series of new sponsors, including Analog clothing, Globe International Ltd for shoes and Sabre Vision eyewear, to join his long-time surfboard sponsor Warner. He also has his own apparel label called My Brothers Keeper.

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Review:
"Bra Boys" is a tribe  they don't like to be thought of as a gang  that have each others back in the financial struggle that some of the families have.
The story is centered around the Abberton family, as Russ said, with the film being written and directed by famous surfer brother Sunny Abberton.
The film also follows the murder of Anthony Hines and the involvement and trail of Jai and Koby Abberton.
But Sunny does not only concentrate on just his own family, but how Maroubra and the "Bra Boys" came to be, as well as introducing other people important to him like his apprentice surfer.
The folky surf music and often interesting interviews provide an entertaining and insightful window into the lives of these bra boys, even if it is a very blurred window.
The film 'Bra Boys' begins by describing the settlement of the Maroubra area and goes on to detail the often chaotic living situations of some of the areas younger citizens.
From then on the story follows the journey of the Abberton brothers - Sunny, Koby and Jai - as they face court cases, gang violence and some massive waves.While I can appreciate the rags-to-riches story of the Abberton brothers, for me the story never really seemed to hit home.
It provides an interesting insight into one of Australia's most notoriously tight-knit surf cultures, yet the Abberton influence raises questions of bias regarding the various events which envelop his brothers.
Bra Boys Review.Bra boys is an interesting one sided documentary about a group of surfers in Australia and a story into their lifestyle.
Bra boys is based in Maroubra, Sydney, NSW, on the 2nd most popular beach in Australia.The documentary is made and directed by Bra Boys, Sunny Abberton and features many gang members and pro-surfers.
It shows the early life of the four Abberton brothers: Sunny, Jai, Koby and youngest brother Dakota.
Another incident that happened was on 22nd of December 2002 when the Bra Boys had a party for pro-surfer Mark Mathews 21st.The party consisted of 200 drunken men who got into fights with off-duty police officers who were celebrating a Christmas party one floor below them.
We can determine who belongs to the Bra Boy's gang as most of them have 'Bra Boy's tattooed on them but in Koby's case he has 'My brothers keeper'.Bra Boy's has a very Australian feel about it, this may be because the narrator is no other then Russell Crowe.
I think it was a wise idea to include some history of the place where it was filmed because it could show why the Abbertons are the people they are today.Also in the documentary it features the Cronulla Riots, and it shows how the Bra Boy's were involved.
Bra Boy's also said that it wasn't all the Lebanese who were fighting, most of the people protecting the beach were multi cultural, Koby said some couldn't even speak English but was standing and fighting for Australia.At the end of the film it shows people from Maroubra telling people what nationality they are, this is a way of showing that it doesn't matter if your not full Australian or born in Australia you are still apart of it.
I don't think the Abberton brothers made this documentary to promote themselves or to make themselves famous, they just want to tell their side of the story.
The story is centered around the three Abberton Brothers Jai, Sunny and Koby who joined together with other young kids going through disadvantaged upbringings.
The three brothers, as well as their younger brother Dakota (who isn't mentioned in the story much) are looked after by their grandmother Ma, who becomes the boys mother, mentor and gang leader after drugs and abuse, tore apart their relationship with their mother.
The director of this film, Sunny Abberton tells his side of the story on the notorious 'Bra Boys' and their story of hatred, distrust, and the love and pride they have for each other.
The movie is mostly male dominated with the only females really mentioned being their mother Lynn who couldn't look after them due to her Heroin addiction and abusive partner, and the lady who becomes the most influential person in the boys lives, their grandmother Ma, whose house the boys hung out at and were treated with as close to a family life as some of the boys could get.
One disappointing aspect of the story was the fact that Jai didn't use his brothers documentary as a way to tell his side of the events that happened on August 5, 2003, when he shot Tony Hines and disposed of his body over the cliff.
As you can imagine, the story is the Bra Boys, therefore it's their version and side of events so you can be sure that the police would completely disagree on most of the information mentioned in this documentary.
For example to be told that the gang was involved in the Cronulla riots as peace keepers using their multicultural backgrounds and friends to call about peace was news to me as I was under the impression they were to blame for it, and also the fact that they payed for Jess, a young talented surfer to go surfing with them.
Russel Crowe narrates the story, his voice giving the impression of the tough, strong, masculine Australian men that the Bra Boys seem to be.'Bra Boys' is a great piece of work, if a bit contradictory in parts, but then life usually is.
So seeing BRA BOYS today is rather enlightening that such a generation has reveled in actual Bad Boy behavior, living out grubby 90s gang fantasies projected from distressing poor and illogical family schisms.
She pivots the film and it is her initial understanding of the basic needs of teen boys to bond which initiates the surfing gangs of Maroubra as seen in this generation.
This is not to detract from BRA BOYS (that title might be a bit misleading for non English audiences though) because this documentary is ultimately a very rewarding and emotional display of astonishing family unity, care and unruly behavior.
The three Abberton brothers of whom this is basically about, and their multicultural tribe of BRA BOYS now to be more Jackass than ever given the huge success of this film, will come out of this well, and I hope for the sake of everyone in Maroubra past and future take a more mature role and become tribal elders to a very influenced generation of young males.
This movie is astonishingly biased and is based on the opinion of gang members rather than true fact.The movie basically attempts to justify a murder committed by one of the Abberton brothers, who head the group.
It also accuses policemen of starting a fight with gang members when both groups were attending functions at the same location."Bra Boys" encourages youngsters to leave school and take up a life of dangerous surfing, drug use and crime.
After being in Sydney last July I decided to take a visit down to Maroubra, I wasn't there long, but just knowing I was in the place that Sunny had learnt to surf made me want to surf again even more, unfortunately where i live thats not always possible.But this documentary was definitely worth the time it took trying to find a place that sold it!
I heard Bra Boys was a gang related story and straight away was not interested in seeing it even though a few friends had seen it and they had said it was a good movie I still had my doubts.
Bra Boys was one of those few movies you come across that take you on an emotional roller coaster ride, often feeling anxiety as the story unfolds.
It's not the slightest bit interesting or intriguing.When young men have no soul, they resort to brutal, pagan tribalism.Boooring.Why not tell us about their schooling, their ladies, their other hobbies, their religion, and how they make a living?Gangs need a source of income.Do the schools and police let these guys just do their thing?
Just a little ways east of Sydney lies a place called Marouba Beach, home to the Bra Boys, a band of hooligan surfers founded by the Abberton Brothers in the 1990s, now made famous courtesy of a documentary entitled "Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker Than Water." When they're not out hanging ten or catching a monster wave, the boys are busy duking it out with rival gangs and even the local police.The film, directed by Sunny Abberton himself, makes for reasonably interesting viewing, though one wonders whether the material itself truly merits a full-length documentary.
Bra boys is a suggestive documentary about the surfing lifestyle in Australia.
It shows aspects of the lifestyle outside of the surfing itself, including things like drinking, violence, friendship, family, murder and the involvement of the police and the law.
It shows all of these things and the impacts that they have had on their lives.The documentary was directed by two members of surf gang ‘the Bra Boys’, Sonny Abberton and Macario de Souza.
Because the Bra Boys are just assumed to be the bad guys by the media and police they want to defend themselves and their reputations.
I think that is a fair representation and why wouldn’t they want to show themselves in a positive way.The Bra Boys are made up of male surfers that live in or around Maroubra Beach in New South Wales, Australia.
They all have a lot of similarities so this is probably why they have bonded in the way that they have.The main people appearing in the documentary are the Abberton brothers.
Her house was close to the beach so it was somewhere for them to hang out and from here they formed the Bra Boys.The documentary is narrated by Russell Crowe so from the start it gives it a kind of Australian feel.
With things like them being against the police, larrikin characters, strong manly representation of men this can be associated as part of Australian culture.And so the documentary shows these troubled kids trying to do good for themselves and them just having fun and surfing all day.
This part of the documentary they show the two sides of the story so it’s not really fair to say the whole film in biased.One of the main parts of the movie is when Jai Abberton is charged with murdering Anthony Hines.
Jai spent 10 months in prison though before the trial happened.Perhaps one of the positive things that the Bra Boys do in the film in when they apologise to the Lebanese community when the riots where happening in Cronulla, New South Wales.
I think that while this could be genuine and what they are really like it could have also just been to make themselves look better in front of the public.I don’t think that this documentary was at all a way to promote themselves because they started filming the documentary before a lot of these events happened.
i have been out of Australia for several years and had not heard of the bra boys although i have been to maroubra beach as a young lifesaver in the early 90's.this documentary unravels to reveal quite a moving story of the Abberton bros.
their struggle growing up, their love of their family & friends, surfing formidable waves and ultimately their fight for freedom.i enjoyed this documentary greatly and hope to see russell crowe involved in a movie based on these surfers lives.highly recommended.
Filled with action and adventure it tells the story of notorious Abberton brothers, Jai, Koby and Sunny.
The narration is by the manly Russell Crowe.In summary this movie is the Bra Boys response to everything in the media about the notorious beach gang in Maroubra.
They do the most they can to use surfing to get them out of the rut of their lives and then become good role models to the younger boys in the group, or at least compared to their home life.
Bra Boys is a fascinating exploration of the Maroubra surf scene, or more correctly the boys of the Maroubra surf scene (there is no room for the female in this landscape) particularly focusing on the Abberton brothers.Coming from hardened backgrounds and neglectful parents, the brothers rose up to form a clan of fraternal solidarity with the Maroubra local boys as well as strong reputations as world class surfers of big waves.While the subject matter is fascinating and there's almost enough material here for 3 documentaries, the fact that the film is written, directed and produced by Sunny Abberton causes a problem.
This becomes a real problem for the film when it explores the incidents surrounding the murder of Anthony Hines and the involvement of Jai and Koby Abberton.
After watching this documentary, you would almost walk away believing that the Abbertons should be praised for their actions involving Hines and single-handedly soothed the Cronulla riots.They're keen to play up their tough home life and upbringing.
Besides the Abberton grandmother who opens her home to the local boys, women are almost completely missing from this film.
And despite the tattoo that claims he is his "brother's keeper", Koby is visibly absent from his brother's trial verdict where he will discover whether he faces a 30 year imprisonment.Although it isn't connected to the Abbertons, the drug ties to the Bra Boys probably deserved a bit more screen time rather than the disjointed opening 30 minutes of weird historical narration and bad animation.
It also could have served to make more sense of the events surrounding Anthony Hines.The Abbertons have led an amazing life and the hope they offer the local boys through the Bra Boys and their surfing achievements IS commendable and worthy of praise.
Bra Boys ReviewGenre Documentary Run time 85 minutes Rated M Country Australia Director Sunny Abberton Rating Bra Boys is a documentary about a gang of middle aged men, who live to surf and stick together in a brotherhood to defend themselves and their beach in an urban community called Maroubra in East Sydney, Australia.
Life at home was terrible for most of these guys from a very young age, so they would hang out at the three Abberton brothers' grandma's house.
The Bra Boys only show their side of the story which begs the question  Are they telling the full story of what their life and gang are all about, or are they hiding something and trying to better their reputation?
I'm sure that the police would have quite a different view of some of the events in which the Bra Boys have been involved in.
By the end of the movie the Abberton brothers show us how strong the connection is of the Bra Boy brotherhood, how they are always there for each other, and how big a part of their lives the beach is.
The Bra Boys are a strong cult and a big part of the Australian culture, a brotherhood that never backs down and lets other people push them around.They live to surf and surf to live!I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and think that it is a great insight into what the Bra Boys have achieved to have come out of the slumps and make something out of life.
Bra Boys is a bias documentary about a gang of Maroubra surfers with the focus on the Abberton brothers- Sunny, Jai, Koby and Dakota.
Using the beach as a saviour for troubled kids, Sunny, Jai and Koby tell their story of struggle and hardship whilst growing up with a heroin addicted mother.
This left them in the care of their grandmother, which they called Ma.This film was made to make the bra boys look good.
By putting a young member of their gang in the documentary and saying that they encouraged him to give up drugs and live for the beach, otherwise he was not allowed to be apart of their gang anymore, gives the boys a reputation that they are heroic.
Failing to state anything about the other chargers, this makes the boys look like heroes to their fellow gang members and the audience watching the film.
This documentary directed and written by the eldest brother, Sunny shows the bra boys side of events in Maroubra and defends their status as notorious gangsters.
The documentary includes their side of the Cronulla riots, the murder trial in which Jai was found not guilty of murdering fellow Bra Boy Anthony Hines and Koby's chargers of perverting the course of justice.
Bra Boys (as in residents of the Sydney beach-side suburb of Maroubra rather than intimate female apparel) may well represent further evidence of a newly emerging style of Australian movie making.
Her home is one block from the beach and isn't just welcome to her grandsons also to there friends.It's a very one eyed view documentary directed by Macario De Souza and one of the Abberton brothers Sunny.
Bra boy shows an interesting overview of the historical clash between surfers and authorities and also the Abberton brothers dealing with maybe losing two brothers to jail.
The bra boys call themselves a tribe while the media call them a "gang".
You can understand while the media would recall them gang, by all the trouble they course like example one of the bra boys was having a 21st party while the police where having a Christmas party in the same place but upstairs.
The Abberton brothers didn't have much at all while being brought up but they have made there own success and money especially Koby who is now one of the biggest big wave surfers in the world.
I recommend people to watch this movie because it can make you think differently of the bra boys and see how there not just a gang there a brotherhood.Liv GYC