New Documentary Shares the Untold History of Surfing in African

While this is your first documentary, you’ve been telling stories long before this. Can you share a bit about your creative journey?

I’m a creative director so I know the ropes of production. I also have two kids who were 17 and eight at the time of the murder of George Floyd. It was then that I found myself having these talks with my kids about what’s happening because they were asking me questions. So, as a dad, surfer, and a Black man living in America I felt like I needed an outlet. Being a creative person, I needed to express myself in some shape or form.

Visual language is very natural to me. So, while I’ve never done a documentary, I know the process of creating something visual very well. At first, I was just going to do portraits of Black surfers to put them in the forefront and say we exist. But as I started to learn everyone’s stories, I realized there was something much bigger here that needed to be told. So I took the cameras and went to shoot, and was like, I can do this.

Tell us about your own surfing history. And do you have a favorite spot?

I’ve been surfing for years––since I was 14. I was born in Ethiopia and was adopted and brought to Saint Augustine, Florida where I lived for eight years. Even though I didn’t necessarily know the historical significance and Civil Rights history when I lived there, I’m happy I learned how to surf and swim there.

Surfing has always been part of my life and I still make it a point to get out. I was just in South Africa and there’s a place called Long Beach, so I had to go there. But I have to say, Waikiki is probably my favorite.

Source: https://fieldmag.herokuapp.com/articles/wade-in-the-water-film-david-mesfin-interview