Staying Afloat
A film by Eleana Newton
A film by Eleana Newton
Staying Afloat began as a reflection of my experience as a female surfer in male-dominated lineups. It has developed into a film about friendship and personal growth amidst my crew of fellow women surfers. At the forefront of this piece are two conversations, one with my friend Julia Mcleod and the second with my sister Katie Newton. Both of these women have played an instrumental role in my journey of self-discovery within the larger surf community. I’ve also chosen to detach the voice from individual faces in this film allowing the conversations to feel personal yet universal.
The entirety of my soundtrack for this film reflects on the universal experience of being an outlier in the water, while also talking about battling anxiety and depression out of the water. I chose to further this idea of finding peace in the ocean by pairing the melodic harp with footage from the ocean of these women surfing.
Visually I wanted to depict the ocean as a space to process and push through the chaos of life. The water is a space to lean into our community for support and continue to show up for yourself and surf no matter our skill level or gender. I filmed for over four weeks, shooting to and from the beach and in the water with fins to capture the essence of paddling out with friends.
There’s a great amount of patience involved with the process as the surfers wait for the swell directions and weather to cooperate to provide the peaceful release of surfing. By publishing this film I hope onlookers film the same joy in the beauty of the sport that I find in this community.
