An unlikely big-wave surfer takes on Portugal’s Nazaré in a courageous bid to equal her inner turmoil in this candid portrait of an abuse survivor
You might call it aquatic fallacy: when mountainous waves and heaving white waters seem metaphorical of the ebb and flow of human feelings. That notion is inescapable watching Portuguese big-wave rider Joana Andrade in the pit at the storied Atlantic break Nazaré, thanks to her generosity in what is, for the surfing world, an unusually candid psychological portrait. She shows as much courage sharing her story of childhood abuse and recovery as in tackling a 50ft wave – and the former will mean more to fellow survivors.
A third of the way through Minna Dufton’s documentary, Andrade drops a bombshell: as a 12-year-old she was groomed, drugged and sexually abused by a family friend. There is often a sneaking sense that plenty of damaged...
You might call it aquatic fallacy: when mountainous waves and heaving white waters seem metaphorical of the ebb and flow of human feelings. That notion is inescapable watching Portuguese big-wave rider Joana Andrade in the pit at the storied Atlantic break Nazaré, thanks to her generosity in what is, for the surfing world, an unusually candid psychological portrait. She shows as much courage sharing her story of childhood abuse and recovery as in tackling a 50ft wave – and the former will mean more to fellow survivors.
A third of the way through Minna Dufton’s documentary, Andrade drops a bombshell: as a 12-year-old she was groomed, drugged and sexually abused by a family friend. There is often a sneaking sense that plenty of damaged...
- 10/19/2022
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Portugal’s SPi and Iceland’s Glassriver have attached Sérgio Graciano to direct Icelandic-Portuguese crime drama “Cold Haven,” a project which links two of the fastest-expanding TV producers on the western Europe seaboard.
Lisbon-based SPi is the company behind Portugal’s first Netflix Original series, the upcoming “Gloria.” It also co-produced “Dry Water,” a pioneering drive into premium TV production in Portugal, linking to Galicia in northern Spain.
Producer of “Ordinary People” and “Funeral,” Glassriver has been building a voluminous development slate with standout series – Baldwin Z’s “Black Sands,” thriller “Polaris,” for example – being snapped up by prominent sales agencies.
A 2011 Intl. Emmy winner for “Laços de Sangue” and a nominee the following year for “Windeck,” Graciano has co-directed season two of “Dry Water.” A high-profile Icelandic director is also expected to be attached to the series shortly, said Hordur Rúnarsson, Glassriver producer and co-owner and “Cold Haven’s” executive producer with José Amaral,...
Lisbon-based SPi is the company behind Portugal’s first Netflix Original series, the upcoming “Gloria.” It also co-produced “Dry Water,” a pioneering drive into premium TV production in Portugal, linking to Galicia in northern Spain.
Producer of “Ordinary People” and “Funeral,” Glassriver has been building a voluminous development slate with standout series – Baldwin Z’s “Black Sands,” thriller “Polaris,” for example – being snapped up by prominent sales agencies.
A 2011 Intl. Emmy winner for “Laços de Sangue” and a nominee the following year for “Windeck,” Graciano has co-directed season two of “Dry Water.” A high-profile Icelandic director is also expected to be attached to the series shortly, said Hordur Rúnarsson, Glassriver producer and co-owner and “Cold Haven’s” executive producer with José Amaral,...
- 8/29/2021
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
The industry centerpiece at Series Mania’s Forum, Monday’s Co-Pro Pitching Sessions take on a special relevance this year as the number of admissions have almost doubled – up to 560, near twice the usual number, says Series Mania director Francesco Capurro. “Producers have had more time to develop with Covid-19. Projects run a wide gamut. The idea is tat there will be something for everybody attending,” Capurro explains. Ambitions – budgetary, artistic – are often high. There are multiple period thrillers, as projects wrestle with key issues – identity, peace, high-tech, big business, sacrifice, survival – crucial to these convulsive times.
“Amal,” (Eran Riklis, Israel)
Powered by one of the most established talents at the Forum, reputed film director Riklis (“Lemon Tree”). Also one of its most ambitious projects, an epic yet intimate love story between a Palestinian woman and Israeli man, spanning three decades and Columbia U, Hollywood, Ramallah and Gaza through to...
“Amal,” (Eran Riklis, Israel)
Powered by one of the most established talents at the Forum, reputed film director Riklis (“Lemon Tree”). Also one of its most ambitious projects, an epic yet intimate love story between a Palestinian woman and Israeli man, spanning three decades and Columbia U, Hollywood, Ramallah and Gaza through to...
- 8/29/2021
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Surf documentaries often appear in "adrenaline" strand of festivals, full of crashing breakers and risk-taking but though this documentary from Minna Dufton does feature impressive surf camerawork from Tim Bonython during its course, it is as much concerned with how its subject Joana Andrade is still dealing with ripples from her past as it is with the giant waves she masters in the present.
Andrade is Portugal's first female big wave rider, a feat that is emphasised by her diminutive 5ft 1in stature. Where many documentaries about sportsmen and women emphasise a risk-taking mentality and devil-may-care attitude, she is much more circumspect.
As an intertitle at the start of the film notes, bravery is less to do with the absence of fear than the conquering of it. Her latest would-be conquest are the giants of the western Portugese town of Nazaré - a resort that has a canyon beneath the sea.
Andrade is Portugal's first female big wave rider, a feat that is emphasised by her diminutive 5ft 1in stature. Where many documentaries about sportsmen and women emphasise a risk-taking mentality and devil-may-care attitude, she is much more circumspect.
As an intertitle at the start of the film notes, bravery is less to do with the absence of fear than the conquering of it. Her latest would-be conquest are the giants of the western Portugese town of Nazaré - a resort that has a canyon beneath the sea.
- 3/2/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Big Vs Small Photo: Courtesy of Glasgow Film Festival
As Glasgow Film Festival enters its second week, we've picked a few more highlights from this year's online edition, along with some films to catch elsewhere on TV or streaming services. Read more of our Glasgow coverage here
Big Vs Small, screening from Tuesday, March 2 to Friday, March 5
This is a surfing doc with a difference. It follows Portugal's first big wave surfer Joana Andrade as she deals with the ripples from her past through the giants she tackles in the present. Documentarian Minna Dufton follows Andrade as she heads to Finalnd to learn how to swim beneath the ice in order to overcome her fear of drowning. There, she meets Johanna Norblad, who is an inspiration in her own right. There's a real emphasis on patience and persistence alongside a belief in people's ability to learn something new as much as having an innate talent.
As Glasgow Film Festival enters its second week, we've picked a few more highlights from this year's online edition, along with some films to catch elsewhere on TV or streaming services. Read more of our Glasgow coverage here
Big Vs Small, screening from Tuesday, March 2 to Friday, March 5
This is a surfing doc with a difference. It follows Portugal's first big wave surfer Joana Andrade as she deals with the ripples from her past through the giants she tackles in the present. Documentarian Minna Dufton follows Andrade as she heads to Finalnd to learn how to swim beneath the ice in order to overcome her fear of drowning. There, she meets Johanna Norblad, who is an inspiration in her own right. There's a real emphasis on patience and persistence alongside a belief in people's ability to learn something new as much as having an innate talent.
- 3/1/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The first all-virtual edition of the Doc NYC festival of nonfiction films announced its 2020 lineup on Thursday, with 107 feature documentaries about everyone from John Belushi to Jamal Khashoggi and Pope Francis to Frank Zappa,
The lineup for the festival, which runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 and will take place completely online, includes 23 world premieres, among them Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Nancy Burski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan” and Jeff Daniels’ “Television Event.”
Doc NYC, which launched in 2010, is the largest festival of nonfiction films in the United States. This year the festival transitioned to a completely online event separated into 14 themed sections, two of which are competitive sections that will award prizes.
The competitive Viewfinders section consists of 11 films, including films set in Venezuela (“A La Calle”), Puerto Rico (“Landfall”), the Dominican Republic (“Stateless”) and...
The lineup for the festival, which runs from Nov. 11 through Nov. 19 and will take place completely online, includes 23 world premieres, among them Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s “The Meaning of Hitler,” Nancy Burski’s “A Crime on the Bayou,” Gong Cheng and Yung Chang’s “Wuhan Wuhan” and Jeff Daniels’ “Television Event.”
Doc NYC, which launched in 2010, is the largest festival of nonfiction films in the United States. This year the festival transitioned to a completely online event separated into 14 themed sections, two of which are competitive sections that will award prizes.
The competitive Viewfinders section consists of 11 films, including films set in Venezuela (“A La Calle”), Puerto Rico (“Landfall”), the Dominican Republic (“Stateless”) and...
- 10/15/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Finnish documentarian Minna Dufton’s debut feature is set to premiere at the upcoming Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy. Champion big-wave surfer Joana Andrade is the only Portuguese woman currently surfing big waves and is a specialist in the discipline, surfing at Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal. She has been nominated as one of the top five female big-wave surfers (tow-in) in the world. Andrade also founded the first surf school for girls in Portugal and is a partner in the Progress Surf School in her home town of Ericeira, Portugal. Also, Johanna Nordblad, a pioneering champion free-diver who trains Andrade to face her fears under the ice, has broken both Finnish and world records in free-diving for two decades. She holds the world record for free-diving under ice for 50 metres without a wet suit. Nordblad can hold her breath under water for over six-and-a-half minutes. The...
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