Dir. Minna Dufton
2020 | 76 mins + 20 mins | Finland
Portugese, Finnish with English subtitles
Joana Andrade, Johanna Nordblad

When Filmmaker Minna Dufton started her documentary about elite big wave champion surfer, the “tiny fighter” Joana Andrade who rides the powerhouse waves at Nazaré, Portugal (home of the 100ft World Record Wave surfed by Garrett McNamara), little did she know Joana harbored a deep secret. ​

By way of explaining the safety equipment big wave surfers use, Joana shared her deep fear of drowning, something many big wave surfers share. In that one extraordinary moment, a remarkable cinematic serendipity would unfold and bring together the tiny Portuguese surfer with Finnish world champion free diver (and Surf Cinema Alumni), Johanna Nordblad for the most unusual of training sessions. ​

BIG vs SMALL is a modern-day fairytale stretching from the raging monster waves in the south to the dark stillness of a far-north, frozen Finnish lake; it’s about power and strength on top of the water, and facing demons under it. It’s about trust, it’s about letting go, and it’s about what happens when two elite female champions share their extraordinary talent with each other.

Because, the battle isn’t on the wave.

Director Minna Dufton will join us after the screening, via zoom, for a Q&A.

The screening will be preceeded by HUNROS JORNA – Recollections in Atlantic Reverie

An experimental Cornish language film by Allan Wilson & Mickey Smith, translated & voiced in Kernewek by Gwenno Saunders. Featuring Allan Wilson, Mickey Smith and Gwenno Saunders.

Across two decades a clan of curious misfits illuminated the frost bitten frontiers of North Atlantic salt. A pack of strays with a rare eye for heavy water; a halcyon era of exploration & camaraderie in the cold.

From the supernatural alchemy of Kernow to the raw majesty of Eire, ‘HUNROS JORNA’ recalls a lifetime of human hearts bewitched by the endless sea.

“We wanted to pay tribute to the heartbeats, land and seascapes that have inspired and given our lives so much meaning. Try and do justice to their spirit by opening up the magic of Kernewek through our stories.” Mickey Smith

COMPETITION TIME!

We’re stoked to share the rad prizes we’ve got to give away for our Surf Cinema Summer Camp Season

Vouchers for Finisterre

Goodies from Huck Magazine

Eco-friendly surf wax from Black Dog Boardwax

To be in with a chance of winning, you just have to be there! See you in the line-up…

TRIPLE F-RATED:

Directed by a woman, written by a woman and starring a significant woman.

F-Rating is a new rating for films directed by women, written by women and/or with significant female characters on screen, in their own right. Find out more here >>

VENUE: EXETER PHOENIX, STUDIO 74

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>