Paris (AFP)

Action, emotion and introspection: such is the subject of the film "Enfer et Paradis", a documentary which wants to be "more intimate" on life, the time of a winter in Nazaré, of the one of the greatest big wave surfers, Justine Dupont.

The story begins on February 11, 2020 at six in the morning. Justine Dupont has breakfast before taking what will become one of the two biggest waves of her life, a water monster over 21 meters high. Antoine Chicoye, the friend and director of this 52 minutes screened Wednesday in Biarritz, is there, camera in hand, to capture the highlights, sometimes more intimate, of this spectacular quest on the emblematic spot of Nazaré (Portugal).

"It's an atypical documentary, that's for sure," said Justine Dupont to AFP, who is keen to highlight teamwork in her performances.

"It's really in the action, with all the adventure that there is around, the day before, the next day, the ups and downs. It is about our practice, how this sport works, the wave of Nazaré , how this spot got on the map ".

For five years, the surfer has spent all her winters in Nazaré - the spot for world records with its lighthouse that gives an impressive optical illusion - in the company of her companion and teammate Fred David.

Antoine Chicoye, who lives in Seignosse, no longer counts his trips to Portugal.

They have chosen to tell about their winter 2019/2020, with three highlights: the giant wave of November 13, 2019, that of February 11, 2020 and a much too dangerous swell on which they will decide not to go.

- Already awarded -

In February the wave was surfed as part of a competition, organized by the World Surf League.

Estimated at 21.3 meters, it has since been supplanted by that of the Brazilian Maya Gabeira, evaluated at 22.25 m, a new world record.

A bitter taste for the Frenchwoman, who remained standing on her board until the wave died, which was not the case for the Brazilian.

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It is nonetheless an incredible wave, captured by the eye of Antoine Chicoye from a point of view unheard of in Nazaré.

"For Justine, I tend to show different things. I took the option of filming from the beach directly, without the lighthouse, a more complicated bias. There was a lot of haze that day, I had a hard time taking pictures and recognizing surfers, "Chicoye recalls to AFP.

"We looked at the images two days later, I was completely hallucinated. The best shot of the day was Justine. I hallucinated about the size of the wave, Justine's performance and the angle which is unique. It's the best shot ever and I'm not ready to do it again, "he said.

The film also shows the sadness and worry that invaded the French trio that day when another surfer competing in Nazaré, the Portuguese Alex Botelho, was seriously injured while surfing a huge wave.

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The documentary has already won over specialists.

It has won awards at festivals, such as Los Angeles (best film about women; best directorial debut), New York and London (best documentary film), Sweden (best photography) and Singapore (best film). on nature).

After Biarritz, it will be screened on Thursday in Hossegor, Friday in Bordeaux and Saturday in Paris (for two screenings, at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.).

© 2021 AFP