Talking To Maddie Meddings on New Film Undercurrents. (And Then Watch It!)

“Women have tried so hard to kind of move away from this hypersexualized version of them in the surf arena,” Maddie Meddings told Surf-Forecast. “Now I think they are trying to be impressive, strong athletes, but also be allowed to be feminine as well. The girls are really passionate that you can be an extreme sports person, but you can also be a woman, and it's okay to have this duality in your personality.”

Maddie is a Cornish photographer, filmer, surfer and now director. She has had DOP roles Lucy Small’s two recent feature films, Yama and Cebu, but took on director duties for Undercurrents. Starring Laura Crane and the 16-year-old Imari Hearn, the documentary explores the theme of mentorship, but also resilience, and the bond forged between two women as they take on a formidable lineup and a male-dominated industry together.

“What I liked most about this film was that Laura had already done so much work on figuring out who she was, and what kind of person she wanted to be”, said Maddie. “So when Imari asked Laura to train her to surf Nazare, which in essence is a pretty dangerous thing to do, Laura was ready. She could pass on all the experience that she’d had to learn the hard way.”

Despite Maddie and Crane being of a similar age and growing up in close-knit small surf towns in North Devon in the UK, the pair hadn’t spent a lot of time together. By the time Maddie had got into surfing, and then photography and filming, Crane was travelling the globe as a sponsored surfer.

Crane was a talented teenage surfer, but she said she was turned by the industry from an ambitious, competitive athlete to an Instagram bikini model within about three years. “It really, really broke me. I retired from surfing at 21 and developed an eating disorder that ran my life for 15 years.”

Crane moved to London, appeared on the reality dating show Love Island and tried her hand as a sports TV host, before a bout of sepsis almost killed her. It was through the work Maddie mentioned, and returning to surfing and discovering a love of big waves, that helped her get back on track to being healthy and happy.

Imari was born and raised by British parents in Bali, but only started surfing three years ago. Her talent, though, was immediate. She became the first British woman to win a Pro Junior event (at Nias, no less), scored an invitation to the Padang Cup and secured a sponsorship with O’Neill.

When she met Crane at an O’Neill Rookie Rippers event, she asked her to teach her to surf Nazare. After a weekend hitting it off with the feisty teenager, Crane thought a film might be the best vehicle to make it happen. Having seen Medding’s work, she thought she would be the perfect filmmaker to chronicle the journey. In between filming the surf action in the Mentawais and Nazare, Maddie does an epic job of capturing the relationship that evolved to the point where Hearn is ready, or at least willing to, surf big Nazare.

It wasn’t always shits and giggles. Crane quickly learns the challenges of pitching ice baths and infrared meditation to a sarcastic teenager. The politics of the Nazare big wave top too isn’t straightforward. However, it is a film that captures a female take on surfing mentorship that is much needed.

“I think we captured the individual fire that Imari has to progress her surfing in so many different ways,” concluded Meddings, “but also the resilience and sisterhood that developed between the surf sessions, and how that made it all work.”

The film made its premiere to rapturous applause at screenings in Bristol, Newquay and London, and should be hitting the international surf film festivals over the summer. For more information or to get in touch with the talented Maddie check her website here.