Jack Johnson's documentary SURFILMUSIC, which premiered at SXSW on March 13, is dedicated to his childhood friend Tamayo Perry, who died in a shark attack in June 2024. The film reflects on Perry's impact and Johnson's path in surfing and music. Johnson shares personal memories of their close bond.
Jack Johnson, the Hawaii-born singer-songwriter, premiered his documentary SURFILMUSIC at SXSW on Friday, March 13. The film is dedicated to Tamayo Perry, a North Shore surfer and lifeguard who grew up with Johnson on Oahu's North Shore and died at age 49 in a shark attack in June 2024. Johnson and Perry remained close friends throughout their lives, with Perry appearing alongside Johnson in the 2000 surf film Thicker Than Water, as well as in Blue Crush and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Following Perry's death, Johnson posted on Instagram that he had lost “one of the world’s best storytellers, tube riders, travel companions, uncles, husbands, lifeguards, but most importantly, one of my best friends.” Directed by Emmett Malloy, SURFILMUSIC traces Johnson's journey from aspiring surfer and filmmaker to recording artist, using rare footage from early surf films, personal archives, and interviews with pro surfer Kelly Slater and Johnson's wife Kim, whom he married in 2000. In the documentary, Johnson reflects on Perry's death: “When I first heard the news of losing Tamayo, I think that you start trying to remember the last time you hung out, or things that were said or just wondering whether you were able to say goodbye.” He added, “Every time you’d be together, he’d give you a big hug and say he loved you and he was so present through his whole life.” Johnson noted that their friend group “learned how to be a better friend by having him in our life.” Johnson has topped the Billboard 200 four times and released his latest album, Meet the Moonlight, in 2022. He plans a tour supporting the documentary from June through October 2026.