BIG vs SMALL | sensitivity and strength in debut feature doc

“I don’t think I’ve met anyone who does something extraordinary that doesn’t have a deep reason for doing so,” says filmmaker Minna Dufton. Her debut feature documentary BIG vs SMALL follows elite surfer Joana Andrade as she faces up to fear and uncovers a buried trauma along the way.

Joana regularly rides to 80-100ft waves off Nazaré, Portugal, in a surfing career that has carved out a space previously discouraged for women. The effect has been profound.

But thrill-seeker Joana was explicitly warned off surfing in the slew of sporty activities she excelled at, and her lifestyle made her vulnerable. As someone who excels on water, Joana reveals she is scared of drowning, and in the process of making the film, Joana shares a deeper experience.

“I’ve worked with sensitive topics for quite a few years,” says Minna.

“Often people who climb mountains or dive deep or drive fast – there’s a reason why we do things, but I didn’t know what the reason was until those days I spent with Joana and she opened up. It was that recovery from trauma that she’d experienced. That’s when it all started to make sense to me.”

Sensitive

Initially, Minna came across the subject of big wave surfing on the BBC website, through a story of women in the US surfing the Mavericks.

“It led me down a rabbit hole, and I found myself in Portugal on a yoga and surf retreat in 2018. That’s where I started to ask more questions about women’s big wave surfing,” she says.

In the process, she heard the best way to train to survive a Wipeout – the scariest situation in big wave surfing – is to dive under the ice. Finnish Minna had a light bulb moment. There are 180,000 lakes in Finland that all freeze in the winter. “I thought I could connect the cold and the big wave surfing,” she says.

Ironic, then how warm the film is. Minna heard Joana was the only Portuguese woman riding the big waves. Minna reached out and filmed a demo. She put a team together and brought surfer Joana to Finland to meet Finnish world champion free diver Johanna Nordblad. It was two kindred spirits coming together. Not only did the process shore up Joana’s fear of drowning, under the icy water her past experiences emerged to the surface.

Minna’s journey into the film exposed her own vulnerability, what with a lack of money and a desire to be true to someone else’s story.

Vulnerable

“It made us equal in a way. It’s easier to start a conversation when you’re also vulnerable in so many ways yourself. When you’re an independent female filmmaker it is perhaps easier to go into those conversations where things like trauma and sensitive topics might start opening up. It’s very delicate, and should be treated as such,” says Minna.

“You need to take time, and respect people’s boundaries, you only ask the questions that they are happy to answer, you don’t push people, and you really need to listen very carefully. Take time, and stick with your values,” she says.”It all comes down to respect and not wanting to break anybody.”

Technical expertise and respectful storytelling

As well as the emotional environment, Minna had to deal with the conditions that included the wild surf and freezing water. As producer, she decided the approach it. Key was taking the time to combine technical expertise and respectful storytelling. Don’t rush, plan well and communicate with your team and with your subject, advises Minna, who still has a good connection with Joana. There’s also a need to improvise.

“When we were due to film the under-ice diving – which is probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever done – our underwater camera crew called in sick. So we had to improvise. We learned that we could solve any issue. That stayed with us when we went to Nazaré. We trusted each other, everyone respected each other. And I also made sure that I looked after everybody on set really well, because I think that translates to what you see on screen,” says Minna.

There’s an epic-ness to BIG vs SMALL, and it was an opportunity for Minna’s filmmaking to match her ambition.

Limits

“I pushed myself to my limits,” says Minna. “I matched the risks that Joana has in big wave surfing into my filmmaking, because this has been a very risky film to make.” That’s not just the subject matter, but financially.

Despite the epic vistas of massive crashing waves, the technical challenge and the dangerous mystery of being under the ice, it’s the authenticity that shines through, like when Joana first met Johanna.

Authenticity

“Authenticity is important to me. I want to be authentic, I want my work to be authentic, and to make people feel that they can believe that this actually happened,” says Minna.

Minna was keen to make the film without sensationalizing the most difficult parts of Joanna’s life. But that lack of sensationalism made getting finances more difficult.

“I got turned down for funding because funders didn’t see the story being strong enough because I didn’t sensationalize the trauma parts. I didn’t think that it was needed. The story is more powerful that it’s sensitively made. It also protects anybody watching it who’s ever had a similar experience. I wanted to act responsibly. And I paid a big price for that.”

With 9 awards so far and on an ongoing amazing festival run, with heaps of loads of positive feedback, it’s an approach that paid off. People have been empowered by the film, by its characters, and by the way it’s made.

Generosity

The epic authentic generosity that fills the screen of BIG vs SMALL is a hard act to follow, but Minna has massive determination.

“I think that the world can be changed one film at a time,” says Minna. “That’s powerful and it gets more powerful every day. Right now, with so much crisis in the world, there’s never been a better time to be a documentary filmmaker.”

BIG vs SMALL is at Studio 74, followed by a Q&A with Minna Dufton on Thursday, June 23 at 8pm. Get your tickets.

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Top image: Joana Andrade at Ericeira, Portugal. Courtesy of Tim Bonython