“Maya and the Wave”, a documentary about the surfer who faces giant waves and ordinary sexism

It’s the gem of the International Adventure Film and Book Festival. The destiny of Maya Gabeira is revealed in a breathtaking film. To be seen in Paris for free at UNESCO, Monday November 18, with director Stephanie Johnes and the sportswoman.

FAlthough we were able to reach La Rochelle this fall, it was by proxy and on our little computer that we stuffed ourselves, without complaining, with a dozen links carefully selected by the team of the International Film Festival and of the adventure book (FIFAV), dear to our film-loving vagabond heart, and whose 21st edition ends on Sunday November 17. Among all these generally well-made documentaries, in disciplines as varied as mountain biking, ice freediving, climbing, paragliding, kayaking or mountaineering, one film seemed to stand out from the rest, going beyond the simple recording of the adventure or the exploit, to tell an intimate, family and societal story, or even, let’s go straight, a destiny. This surf film, but not only – all its interest lies in the “not only” – is Maya and the Wave.

We’ve seen a lot of portraits of adventurers. But how many are so moving, so vibrant, so honest? A decade of filming and multiple production twists made this little miracle possible. The long-term friendship and unwavering trust that were forged between Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira and documentary filmmaker Stephanie Johnes allowed the latter to have access to moments of intimacy censored in the commonplace of sports documentaries. .

Fall prohibited

The vague, singular, title is of course polysemous. It’s not just twenty-meter monsters that Maya learns to tame, because yes, Maya is not a surfer like the others. She practices “big” surfing, as we say in the jargon, a terrifying and highly risky discipline since falling is often prohibited and sometimes fatal. When the giant wave falls on the ant in a wetsuit who dared to challenge it, the power of the shock and the long minutes spent underwater being tossed leave little hope of emerging without physical or psychological after-effects. Maya Gabeira herself came close to drowning in Nazaré, Portugal, undoubtedly the most legendary big wave spot, where she has since taken up residence.

The most treacherous and painful wave, however, has another name. Beneath its cool, tanned veneer, the world of surfing suffers from the same ills as society in general and other sports in particular. In the eyes of her peers, Maya has a huge flaw: she is a woman, and sublime at that. Which is a lot for the apollons who are used to measuring the size of their waves among themselves. That a Brazilian blonde overtakes them and is the first to surf a 20.8 meter wave (in 2018) still happens. But if she dares to demand that her exploit be duly recorded in the Book of Records, it is their virility that is attacked.

Bad luck for the phallocrats, Maya is a warrior, and a serious one. We see her escape drowning, as we have said, recover from a series of spinal surgeries, get back on her board, stuffed with pills, to try to accomplish her dream and break records, one after the other. She draws this strength, this balance, among others, from her family, who supports her, guides her, loves her, despite everything. All individual sports are team sports. Surfing is no exception. No one reaches the top without a coach, a father, a mother. Maya certainly inherited the stubbornness and sense of justice from her father, Fernando Gabeira, one of the founders of Brazil’s Green Party. In his youth, this revolutionary Marxist, opposed to the dictatorship (1964-1985), participated in the kidnapping of the American ambassador in 1969, the details of which he recounted in a book, adapted for the cinema in 1997 in a film of which we are shown some images (Four Days in September, by Bruno Barreto). Like wood, like twig.

Maya’s obstacle course against the elements and the patriarchy reminded us of that of kayaker Nouria Newman, another neoprene mermaid, discovered at the La Rochelle film and adventure book festival in 2022. Her new film, Big Water Theory, was presented this year at FIFAV and is also worth a look. But it’s nice to put white or salt water in your mouth with films that no one can see.

Abracadabra : Maya and the Wave will be screened at UNESCO, in Paris, this Monday, November 18 at 6 p.m., in the presence of Maya Gabeira and Stephanie Johnes. The screening is free, upon prior online registration until Friday November 15 at midnight. But latecomers will also be able to show up on the big day, the director assured us.