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Girls Can't Surf

Play trailer 1:40 Poster for Girls Can't Surf 2020 1h 48m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
It's the 1980s and the world of professional surfing is a circus of fluoro colours, peroxide hair and radical male egos. GIRLS CAN'T SURF follows the journey of a band of renegade surfers who took on the male-dominated professional surfing world to achieve equality and change the sport forever.
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Girls Can't Surf

Critics Reviews

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Rebecca Harrison Sight & Sound Sep 9, 2022
Girls Can’t Surf makes for a bittersweet historical record that will ensure women surfers’ contributions to the sport are never wiped out. Go to Full Review Tom Shone The Times (UK) Aug 22, 2022
3/5
A plain mix of talking heads and archive clips, and it doesn’t have a huge number of shots of the women actually surfing. But it’s full of spirited, engaging stories. Go to Full Review Kevin Maher The Times (UK) Aug 19, 2022
4/5
... Infected with a giddy, punk rock energy. Go to Full Review Jane Freebury The Canberra Times (Australia) Aug 23, 2022
4/5
It is fascinating to hear in Girls Can't Surf from Layne Beachley about this turning point, when she became the poster girl for Billabong... Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kalissa H. @kali_416 Feb 25, 2026 Amazing documentary. It was I nteresting even for a person who doesn’t follow surfing. Really showed how unfair it was for women during the time period the documentary focuses on. See more helen b @RT93092624 Aug 20, 2022 A brilliant documentary about misogyny in the surf world See more Apr 21, 2022 Girls Can't Surf was, like many adventure documentaries, well produced using a variety of historical footage and interviews. It didn't hit home quite as hard as Maiden (2019) which I found absolutely spectacular. I wish we could have seen more of the surfing performance from the athletes and witnessed perspectives from more other people (ie- event organisers). It translated a vibe quite well, but didn't pull you in quite as deep as it could have - but again, perhaps it's because of continued failures by the committee and an underwhelming feeling that things haven't quite changed as much as we would want. See more Apr 19, 2022 horrible didnt make sense See more Read all reviews
Girls Can't Surf

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Cast & Crew

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Christopher Nelius

Director

Lisa Andersen

Self

Rochelle Ballard

Self

Layne Beachley

Self

Wendy Botha

Self

Pam Burridge

Self

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Girls Can't Surf

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Girls Can't Surf

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Movie Info

Synopsis It's the 1980s and the world of professional surfing is a circus of fluoro colours, peroxide hair and radical male egos. GIRLS CAN'T SURF follows the journey of a band of renegade surfers who took on the male-dominated professional surfing world to achieve equality and change the sport forever.
Director
Christopher Nelius
Producer
Christopher Nelius, Michaela Perske
Screenwriter
Julie-Anne De Ruvo, Christopher Nelius
Production Co
Finch, Whipped Sea, Pursekey Productions
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Australian English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 19, 2022
Runtime
1h 48m
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