Johanna Brebner is no stranger to time on the tarmac. Having cycled and surfed across the length of New Zealand, she is once again hitting the road, albeit on four wheels this time instead of two, as she begins to tour her film ‘Spaces In Between’ which documents her three month mission across Aotearoa.
Produced by needessentials, the film follows Johanna as she returns to her childhood home after a decade away, packs her life onto a bike (with a surfboard in tow), and pedals more than 2,000 kilometres across the country. No real cycling experience, no blueprint, just a loose plan to chase waves and reconnect with the place she grew up in.
But like the trip itself, the film isn’t fixated on scoring. It leans into the slower moments – the long stretches of road, the people met along the way, the mental grind and the quiet wins. It’s a portrait of endurance, chance encounters and the kind of perspective you only get when you move at 20km/h.
Brebner’s already shared a few hard-earned lessons from the mission. This is the full picture.
Spaces In Between will be screening up and down the East coast over the coming weeks:
- Byron Theatre — May 14
- Yamba Cinema — May 16
- Harbord Hotel, Freshwater — May 21
- Thornbury Picture House — May 21
- Aireys Pub — May 22
All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to SurfAid, supporting the health and resilience of remote surf communities.
If the idea of trading speed for something a little more meaningful has been circling your head lately, this might be the nudge.
