Скачать или смотреть "Wa Guejj Gui: Ocean People" | A Surf Movie About the Birth of Surfing

When discussing surfing, most people consider the sole origin to be by the Polynesians and the first known account to be the 1700s in Hawaii.

More recently, anthropologists and historians have challenged this theory, opting for the knowledge that the "wave riding culture" was also developed independently around the world, including the West Coast of Africa, hundreds of years prior.

"Wa Guejj Gui: Ocean People" explores the notion that surfing developed in West Africa, independently of and simultaneously with other parts of the world, through an old practiced form of wave riding using wooden planks for bodyboarding and surf canoes.

Assumed by youth and passed down through oral stories and clues in culture, we are able to examine the past, consider the present (through practice, competitions, etc), and look to the future of West African surf culture.

This practice, in a sense, is not new but signals the rebirth of surfing in West Africa.

The film takes us to Senegal, a West African country with untouched beach breaks - secrets to those who know these Atlantic waters.

There, the Lebou Tribe, men bonded to the ocean, have traded fishing for surfing as a way to master the waves.

The story is told through the local community and professional surfers, including Cherif Fall, from this region to shine a light on an often-forgotten part of surfing history.

"Wa Guejj Gui: Ocean People" was shot by Clé Hunnigan, an influential Jamaican visual artist, writer, and filmmaker from Jamaica.

His main collaborator for this film, Robin Rivera, is a black cinematographer from Puerto Rico.

This is the fourth short film by Clé Hunnigan for Corona Studios and the second collaboration with Robin Rivera.

The surf movie premiered at the Urbanworld Film Festival.

Credits:

Director/Writer: Clé Hunnigan
Cinematographer: Robin Rivera
Editor: Barnabas Kelemen
Producer: ‪@corona‬ Studios

Cast:

Babacar Thiaw
Cherif Fall
El Haj
Khardiata Sambe
Kevin Dawson
Imane Signate