AGAINST THE CURRENT
Samukelisiwe Cele is a black female surfer who could not only change the way surfing is viewed in South Africa, but the sport as a whole, but something is holding her back.
TRAILER
Full Documentary
Sam is looking to go far in the surfing world. She grapples with her circumstances, family pressures and the need to be a typical teenager.
As the South African Championship surfing competition in Cape Town looms, Sam knows she needs to train for the competition, but the outcome is uncertain as she tries to balance her love for her friends, her future education and her desire to be a world champion.
As the only black female competing in South Africa at the moment, her struggles are far from over and her story illuminates the difficulties of being one of a kind in a competitive and sometimes alienating sporting world.
This documentary was completed as part of my 4th year TV journalism coursework at Rhodes University. It saw the talented Kayleigh Tuck, Aphile-Aphile Sololo and myself staying in Durban for two weeks in order to tell the story of Samukelisiwe Cele and film her world. I was the director of photography, sound designer, data wrangler and editor for the project. It was shot on a combination of Panasonic P2s, Canon DSLRs and GoPros and was edited over 2 months using the Adobe CC suite.