Big vs Small (2022)
A documentary about the first Portuguese Woman to surf Nazaré
“Brave is not the one who is not afraid but the one who conquers her fear.”
It is a story about conquering fears and overcoming challenges. Filmmaker Minna Dufton chose this quote to start the documentary “Big vs Small” and the use of the female pronoun is done with reason. It is the story of a female surfer, the first Portuguese woman to take on the giants at Nazaré: Joana Andrade.
Charlie met Joana in Ericeira in October 2023 and had the chance to ask her a few questions about the movie and big wave surfing.
A movie about Joana
It all started with a dream, for both of them: the surfer Joana and the filmmaker Minna. During a retreat in Portugal, Minna developed the idea of a documentary about big wave surfing and women in surf. She was introduced to Joana to discuss these topics.
Joana told her about her own story, how she started surfing and how the idea of surfing Nazaré came to be. It is the story of a woman of only 156cm in height who discovered surfing as her sport at a time when it was male-dominated and practiced by a crowd that her mum did not want her to get involved with. It also is a story of childhood abuse and the path to healing.
Minna was inspired and she changed the plot: instead of women in surf, it should be about one woman in surf, Joana Andrade.
Getting ready for the big waves
Big wave surfing is impressive to watch and most people only see the part that happens at the water’s surface. Certainly, that part requires training and ocean knowledge. But it is the part we don’t see that requires training. It is the hold-down that a big wave surfer needs to deal with. In the movie they talk about a 30-meter-wave that pushes you 15 meters under water. What matters in this moment is to trust in your own lung capacity and to not panic.
Apart from the usual training of breathing techniques, Joana went on an adventure and met free diver Johanna Nordblad in Finland in December 2018. A big part of the documentary is dedicated to this period and shows the two women swimming in a Finnish lake in summer swimwear and diving under ice. A lot of what Johanna says in the movie reminded Charlie of a talk she had heard at the surf summit in France by freediver Arthur Guérin-Boëri.
Breath training is one side of it, another is safety equipment. Joana shows in the movie how the safety vest works and how it inflates under water to bring the big wave surfer back to the surface.
Nazaré: Fishing village turns surf destination
It is exactly that development and the accessibility of safety equipment that contributed to the growth of big wave surfing. And it turned the village of Nazaré from a fishing village into a hot spot for surf tourism. The waves at Nazaré are caused by an underwater canyon and were always big in the history of humankind. It was only in recent years that surfing that wave became popular.
The documentary “Big vs Small” tells the story of Nazaré and shows the elderly women that make the face of the village. Fishing has always been the main activity and the sea took many lives leading to a large number of widows living in Nazaré. The inhabitants know of the risk and the movie shows other big wave surfers such as Maya Gabeira and João de Macedo talking about it. It is mentioned that nobody has died yet at Nazaré which unfortunately, at the time of writing, is no longer true. The Brazilian big wave surfer Marcio Freire lost his life in Nazaré in January 2023.
Overcoming fear
Big wave surfers know of the risks. Joana talks a lot about the respect for the waves and their size, as well as overcoming fear. People used to joke about her height because she is only 156 cm tall, but she states that strength comes from the head, not the body. In the direct conversation, Joana was proud to have done something that people told her she couldn’t do.
Her own size doesn’t matter, the size of the wave however does. After all, it’s how world records are made. In the conversation, Joana explained that she does not know how big a wave really is until she hears it crushing behind her and the ride is over. When she gets towed into the wave, it is the spotter on land and the jetski driver who communicate and have the information. The only thing she can do is trust their judgement. Therefore, the spotter needs to have good ocean knowledge and all three need to fully trust each other. She proudly says that it’s teamwork and “together you go further”.
She does not deny to have fear when she gets towed into a big wave and explained that “fear is good to have because we learn about ourselves”.
The healing powers of the ocean
Joana’s personal story is a big part of her surfing journey. She talks about mental pain and the numbing of such pain with alcohol and drugs. Surfing became her escape – much to her mother’s despite. She shows in the movie where she hid the surfboard to have it handy when she snuck out of school. She also talks about the feeling of approaching death and testing her limits.
Making waves
Joana Andrade is the first Portuguese woman to have surfed the big waves at Nazaré. She didn’t do it for the fame, it was more of a personal mission. She was surprised about the reaction in the press which is shown in the documentary too.
She did not know that she would change the way of thinking and the image of women in Nazaré. Those women also have a voice in “Big vs Small” and they’re proud of Joana. So is her mother who initially did not want her daughter to surf. She talks about her worries, but also about opportunities that women like her daughter have these days.
On a side note, the topic of gender equality in professional surfing is mentioned in the documentary. When Joana won her first surf awards, the prize money for women was significantly lower than for men. By now, they’re equal.
Charlie noticed something else that Joana does differently: she surfs a very short board in very big waves. Charlie had met big wave surfer Rob Fowlie before and saw his broken surfboard in Carwyn’s back garden. It was a gun. When she asked Joana about the short board, she explained that this board has a strap for the foot and is very heavy, it weighs 15 kg. Another proof that you can do things your own way.
Big wave surfing: a life changing adventure
For Joana, it certainly changed her life to surf the big waves in Nazaré in many ways and it made her a better surf instructor. She runs her own surf school in Ericeira, Progress Surf School, and Charlie couldn’t help but ask: “Does big wave surfing change the way you teach, especially when students express fear?” Her answer was simple: “I love to teach.” That side hasn’t changed, but she approaches the topic of fear differently. She encourages learners to embrace the fear, meet themselves in the waves and to stay calm in the “washing machine”. “It’s a sport to live in the moment.” – No matter which size of wave you’re surfing.
The movie “Big vs Small” is available on Amazon Prime. It is in Portuguese and English with English subtitles.
