Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: DAUGHTERS OF THE WAVES [Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The idea of competitiveness in modern society has taken a world view. Even if you are based in Tahiti, if you have a decent internet connection and a will to succeed, nothing can stop you. The film "Daughters Of The Waves" [Documentary Competition] follows in a roundabout way Vahine Fierro who has become a world renowned surfer but her true talent is retaining the balance of her instinct versus where she comes from in a larger structure. Unlike "White Rhino" at SLO Fest which examined the more pure sports angle with some intense visuals, "Daughters Of The Waves" is more about the cultural and the binds that connect them. The film, made by two French filmmakers, is also much more subdued and perhaps, in a way, graceful. The water shots and aerials over the waves via drone give a sense of motion and stillness at the same time. When one of the boat masters takes Vahine out to the waves, you see her connected to his stories. He is that uncle who a person remembers telling stories and giving encouragement in their youth that says with a person their entire life. This progresses to the family compound. Vahine's father was an American surfer that got hurt but fell in love with the island and one of the girls there and stayed.

It is a beautiful story. The three daughters all have their own goals, ambitions and yet a serenity and beauty connected to how they were raised and the island they live on. Vahine left to go to a high school on a different island with a surf program. One of her sisters talks about crying the day she left when she was 10. They are all together some of the time now but you feel that pain of sorts in a way with her. The latter half of the doc flows the other two sisters more as they try to interpret their older sister's steps, her triumphs and her mistakes but make their own path either similarly or different. Seeing them all sit around a table with the sunset below in the background watching some of the dailies the filmmakers did from earlier that day on their laptop really shows the reflexive nature of some documentaries nowadays. While not as meta as say "Havana Libre" was at Big Sky, "Daughters Of The Waves" shows the power of family and sisterhood in a brilliant way. B+

By Tim Wassberg