Tribea Interview: Director Christopher Nelius and Former Pro Surfers Jolene Smith and Jorja Harmon Smith, ‘Girls Can’t Surf’

For my last interview out of the Tribeca Film Festival, I was able to speak to the team behind the sports documentary “Girls Can’t Surf,” which had its premiere as part of the festival on June 17. One of my guests was the film’s writer and director Christopher Nelius. I was also joined by two former pro surfers, twins Jolene Smith and Jorja Smith Harmon. They are showcased in the film.

The documentary tells the story of the women’s pro surfing tour starting in the 1980s, and how a group of surfers, like Frieda Zamba or Jodie Cooper, took the surfing world by storm in an attempt to achieve equality and change the sport for future generations.

In the conversation, Christopher talks about getting involved with the project. The twins also talk about how they came on board. They share some of their stories, like an important letter writing campaign. Christopher also talks about the structure of the film and organizing the information, and having to cut out certain stories from the film. We also touch on the inequality in the sport and how it’s changed since the 1980s.

We talk about a lot more in the conversation, which you can watch above on YouTube.

‘Girls Can’t Surf’ premiered on June 17 at the Tribeca Film Festival.