With most surf movies going straight to DVD, it's easy to see why Eric Walden is excited about what he helped create: a three-week film series of wave-riding classics on a bigger screen, at the Doris Duke Theatre.

"For a surfer, it's fun to go see them at a theater," he said. "Every once in a while (surf filmmakers) will come through town and have a screening of a movie, but for the most part, they don't."

"Summer Cinema Surf Safari: Kowabunga!" is a seven-film collection that features some of the sport's best talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Starting Monday with a contemporary look at Waikiki's beachboys, the series includes 1970s period pieces "Five Summer Stories" and "Super Session," the inspiring "Surfing For Life" and two recent films by acclaimed California filmmakers Jason Baffa and Mark Jeremias.

Walden is a 33-year-old surfboard shaper and, along with his wife, Jackie, the co-owner of Chinatown Boardroom, which is part surf shop, part art gallery.

The Waldens worked with Gina Caruso, the film curator at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, to find a range of films.

They favored movies that told a story.

"Some of the films that are just repetitive surfing can get a little boring, especially if you are not a surfer," Eric Walden said. "A lot of the newer film producers have been doing more of a story line. They are getting more into it than just shooting scenes of people surfing. I kind of like those."

When the Waldens opened Chinatown Boardroom in 2006, they dreamed of showing surf films at the shop. But the 400-square-foot space was too small, said Jackie Walden, 35.

However, Caruso, who knows Jackie, also wanted to show surf films on a big screen. The idea was a warm reminder for Caruso, now 47, of the time her big sister took her on a surf trip to Puerto Rico in the late 1970s.

And so their cinema surf safari was born.

"In Hawai'i, surfing is embedded in our everyday lives even if you are not a surfer," said Jackie Walden. "Having a surf film festival would be a great opportunity for people to see so many good movies. They are visually and intellectually inspiring."

Caruso, who has only been at the academy since last summer, said most of the films she has screened in its 280-seat theater address themes that are more serious than the pursuit of perfect waves.

But like so many, she couldn't resist the siren call of the surf.

"It seems like such an obvious connection to Honolulu and Hawai'i," she said. "It makes sense and it's fun. We need to have fun."

Of course, it didn't hurt that the films were lush and beautiful and the surfers skilled and daring.

"The aesthetics are really wonderful in these films," she said. "The filmmakers took a lot of risks going out there. The filmmaking is great, and the surfers themselves are really artistic."

Caruso said it took nearly two months to secure all the films, but she would like to make the film series an annual event. Besides, she just took her first surf lesson. She understands the attraction.

Eric Walden, a passionate longboarder who started surfing when he was a boy in San Diego, would like nothing better.

"Hopefully there is a good reception," he said. "There are so many good films, you can't get them all in one shot."

FILMS IN THE SERIES