Making the Film
This year we - Kayleigh, Aphile-Aphile and Sebastian - took off at 4am on a cold July morning, leaving Grahamstown for Durban. We were going to follow around a then-17-year-old surfer girl whom we'd never met. We were anxious about what the outcome of our two-week adventure would be, but equally excited to swim and ride the waves in a place familiar to all of us.
On the first day, we were greeted by morning showers and, on the road, floods. That was - for lack of a better word - awkward. Because we were there to film a film about a surfer and had not exactly planned for a plot twist. Our title would've probably been "Against the Showers". Or something about the awesome Zulu surfer girl whose skills you don't actually get to see.
After a day or so, the skies and roads cleared and we were able to meet the Celes and the following day, the cameras started rolling.
We had daily workout which entailed carrying most of our equipment with us, filming a camera shy Samukelisiwe (Sam) go about her daily life and ensuring that we capture the vibrancy of Durban, a city that brought so many memories for all of us. Nostalgia would hit most when were on our way somewhere - in Sebastian's wagon.
What began with an anxious first face-to-face chat over biscuits and coffee - our daily energiser with Sam became a relationship between four young South Africans making a film about a girl who defies the "jumping from this pier is prohibited" sign - and jumps. The pier, for, us, symbolises the historical idea that surfing is only for white people - particularly males. Sam defies that and even breaks free from the myths about the ocean that the older generation tends to pass down to children - as told by Sam and Randy - her best friend - in the documentary.
Interviews with Sam's coach Alvin Mtatshi, her friend Randy, her brother Seluleko and her parents Mkhaliphi and Nombali Cele enabled us to access more about the hip-looking dreadlocked surfer.
We thoroughly enjoyed our icecream breaks, riding bicyles along the promenade, swimming and surfing - not Aphile, who wore boots to the beach - and laughing at the footage Sebastian and Aphile often took of an unaware Kayleigh.