Production Design

Surf Monkey Films | The Donn of Tiki

Project: Filmmakers Alex Lamb and Max Well of Surf Monkey Films were in search of a story to tell, and began looking into the life of legendary mixologist and tiki enthusiast Donn Beach, a.k.a. Don The Beachcomber. Heretofore, the story of Donn’s “real” life has not really been fully investigated, compiled or coherently told through a cinematic lens. As they dove into research, they quickly discovered a deep labyrinthine rabbit hole rife with rumor, mystery, exaggeration, larger-than-life characters, world travel, clandestine criminal conspiracies, love and betrayal, and other fantastical intrigue. While distinguishing fact from fiction, accuracy from embellishment, and personality from character would prove to be a Herculean effort, at the heart of it there was indeed a fascinating and compelling story full of adventure, humor, love, heartbreak, failure, success, and honor that was clamoring to be told. Alex and Max immediately set out to create a retrospective documentary omage that attempts to tell the real story (or at least as close as you can get) of the life and legend of Donn Beach.

As Production Designers on the film, we were tasked with creating the movie’s primary logo and branding language, all opening credit title cards, and lower thirds. Our set design role included styling and design of highly detailed tabletop sequences, a hand-drawn, 9 foot timeline scroll of Donn’s life, archival photo retouching, food/beverage styling, and creation of all cocktail hero shots.

The Donn of Tiki is a 2025 James Beard Award nominee in the category of Documentary Visual Media.

Learn more about The Donn of Tiki film here.