Episode 205: Lucy Small and Maddie Meddings - Yama Surf

After episode 204’s polarising conversation with Steven Kotler, regular service resumes this week, with this lovely chat with surfers and film-makers Lucy Small and Maddie Meddings about their new film Yama Surf.

Regular listeners will recall my previous conversation with Lucy back in 2021, after she achieved notoriety for speaking up about gender equality in surfing in a famous post-contest speech that went viral. In the intervening years, Lucy has continued to lead this conversation on her own terms and in a way that continues to move things forward.

And now she’s back with this film, a collaborative creative project with British film-maker Maddie which sees them explore the female surf and skate scenes in Ghana, explore the country’s hitherto untold surf history and, as the duo put it, ‘challenge the historic representation of Ghanians in a story of reclamation and joy’.

They also focus on the work of two driven, impressive locals: Sandy Alibo of Surf Ghana, and Justice Kwoife of Obibini Girls Surf Club, who are building Ghanian surf culture from the ground up.

Embellished by Maddie’s pulchritudinous cinematography and Lucy’s lovely surfing, the result is a compelling surf film that tells a new story in what is rapidly becoming Lucy’s trademark style. This is really a  tale of complete creative openness and collaboration, and I particularly enjoyed hearing about how the pair devised and created the project as they went along. Hope you enjoy this one.

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