Dayla Soul's film, “It Ain’t Pretty,” shows what it's really like for the women who charge at San Francisco's Ocean Beach. Because, Soul has a problem with the "surfer girl" image.
DAYLA SOUL: Like they’re bikini-clad, jumping off of waterfalls and listening to cool girly music, you know? And I wanted something a little more edgy, something a little more of the reality of who we are at Ocean Beach.
The surfing world has been slow to recognize women as serious contenders. The international Mavericks big-wave surfing competition that convened earlier this year in Half Moon Bay featured 24 surfers and not a single woman. Some say it’s hard for talented women to get pro sponsorship unless they also look like fashion models.
Click the audio player to hear excerpts from some big-wave female surfers in the film talking about what they face in the water.
"It Ain't Pretty" kicks off the 15th annual SF Doc Fest tomorrow. It will be at the Roxie theater at 8pm.
And check out this awesome music video Mira Manickam made along with the It Ain't Pretty project.