Watch: The New York Times Profile Film on Mikey February

Historically speaking, mainstream media hasn’t always accurately put its finger on surfing’s complicated and nuanced pulse. That goes from the cheesy 1960s surf movies to an infatuation with a viral kickout during the 2024 Olympics after one of the best Teahupo’o barrels ever seen in competition.

But Sandra Winther’s poignant and unique feature on Mikey February might be one of those rare instances where the needle points true. Her film, A New Wave was recently released as part of The New York Times Op-Docs series. Watch the full film here , and read an accompanying op-ed from Mikey here .

As described by the Times , “This poignant portrait of family legacy delves into Mikey's love of surfing inherited from his father, his accomplishments becoming the first Black South African to compete on the World Surf Tour, and his later departure from professional surfing out of a desire to surf on his own terms and a commitment to pure self-expression.”

Winther hails from Copenhagen and took to surfing as an adult. She has made regular trips to surf in Puerto Rico for the past decade. She has a surfer's eye, and when production has an off day she'll look for waves (Ericeira and Moʻorea were among her recent ventures). Like surfers the world over, she was intrigued by Mikey’s style and poise. But her goal for the film was not just to highlight his ability, but his family’s story and how it shaped his upbringing. The film is just as much about his father, Isaac, and touches on the longstanding and complicated history of race in South Africa. Mikey is only one generation removed from the oppressive apartheid regime that governed the country and prohibited Isaac from surfing at certain beaches. Isaac and his wife Marsha, wanted Mikey's experience to be vastly different.

Read below for an interview with Winther, who details the radical humility of Mikey February, the influence of his father, digitizing their family VHS tapes and how she took a spin on Mikey’s signature yellow twin pin.

SURFER: How did you first hear about Mikey February?

Sandra Winther: I had seen clips of Mikey surfing. Then in 2021, I was in Cape Town shooting a commercial with my production company and I was talking to the crew about how much I enjoyed Mikey’s style. One of the guys on set said he knew Paul Daniel, who shoots water photography and works with Mikey. He said he’d make the connection, if I would like. So I sat down with Paul and talked about how it would be cool to do something together and I just loved Paul’s energy. He said you have to meet Mikey, but he was protective of him at the same time. So I ended up meeting with his manager Damien Farenfort, who had seen another short of mine, and he said he’d love for me and Mikey to meet.

I ended up meeting with Mikey a few days before I had to leave Cape Town. I brought producer Sara Samsoe and cinematographer Joao de Botelho with me, and we met at a coffee shop in Kommetjie. I didn’t know too much about Mikey, so I was hoping to get to know him better. I had seen him surfing and thought he had a cool style and I had noticed his eye for cinematography and how he presented himself too, like through black and white photography.

What did you learn from that initial conversation?

Every question I asked him led back to his father in some way. The relationship he has with Isaac informs so many of the things he does, even subconsciously I think. It became so clear from that conversation that there was a special bond between them. Obviously their experience growing up was so different from mine, but something about their connection felt similar to the relationship I have with my dad, who’s a young soul and super adventurous. When Mikey talked about his relationship with his dad, I thought wow, these are the things I love about my father too, that we can do all these things together. My dad got me excited about jumping into things.

I left that conversation feeling like there’s a nice story here with the two of them. Because I had to leave Cape Town so soon, I asked Mikey, “If I wrote something up and sent it to you, would you and your family decide to shoot something together the next day? Because if you do, I’ll extend my stay.” So he shared it with his family and said we’d like to do this.

How did you decide on the black-and-white style of the shots?

From that first meeting, we went straight into thinking about the visual language. Talking with my cinematographer, we wanted to tailor this film to the story we’re telling. Usually with surf films, you want the shots to be wide and color to show the power of the ocean and the full wave, but to me, this is a more intimate film about the bond between father and son. We talked with Isaac and his family about ideas, and Mikey and his father are both into the timeless quality of black-and-white photography and that choice felt right emotionally.

I think when you shoot in a 4:3 aspect ratio and in black and white, you’re getting to the core and getting a portrait of the person. And there’s something beautiful about Mikey’s silhouette against the whitewater where it becomes more graphic.

We only shot for four days on that first trip. I left with that footage and tried to edit this short thing. But when I did that I realized there’s a longer film here, and in order to do the story justice we had to film more. So we planned another trip in late summer to do a proper week of filming with Mikey and Isaac. We went to Lamberts Bay and the jazz club and Muizenberg to film with Waves for Change, the organization Mikey works with. We deepened the story with the second trip and in the interim Paul Daniel would shoot sessions with Mikey.

There are some touching videos of Isaac and Marsha's wedding. Why include them in the process?

We spent a lot of time at the house and Marsha and Isaac are just the most welcoming, sweet people. I felt honored they let us into their world the way they did. Isaac showed me old photographs he had of Mikey and Marsha. I asked if he had archival videos, and I asked that because there’s a sort of husband-and-wife mirroring of Mikey and Zelti and Isaac and Marsha that I thought could be interesting to explore. Isaac said the only footage he had was on VHS tapes with water on them and he hadn’t looked at them in years. I told him I’d try to digitize that video for him. So we took a lot of VHS tapes they had. Some of the tapes weren’t able to be restored, but we got the wedding footage! When I saw that, I just melted. It was so beautiful.

Because I set out to make a film not just about Mikey but also about his father, Isaac made it clear early on that he wanted Mikey to have a different experience with the ocean than the one he had. Isaac didn’t have a father figure in his life, so when he and Marsha met, they said when they bring kids into the world they want them to have a better experience. Isaac is such a committed person, and they have a committed love. I thought it was a beautiful component of Mikey’s story.

What’s it like watching Mikey surf in person?

He came to Puerto Rico last year when I happened to be there. I had dinner with him, his wife and his son. But I hadn’t seen him surf since we shot the film. I just sat on the beach and said, “Wow.” Even me, who had filmed him surfing and worked on this film, when you see him amongst other surfers in the water (not that anyone should be comparing one another), he just has a unique way of moving. He’s tall and lanky and carries these big, beautiful lines. At times he surfs a shortboard like a longboard. It’s like a dance. There’s a rhythm.

I know he’s an inspiration for the next generation of South African surfers. Not only because he made it onto the Championship Tour, but because of the human being he is and the energy he shows up with for the community. The way he surfs, the style and grace and humbleness, his appreciation for the ocean, for music, there’s a lot to look up to. He’s not one to brag, but he’s incredible.

He does seem like a good dude, in and out of the water.

Funny story: On the last day, Mikey had to do something and I really wanted to surf. Mikey said to go use one of his boards at the house. So I picked up his yellow twin pin with his stickers on it and took it out at a spot close to their house. And several people paddled up to me and said cool board. I said “It’s my friend’s ( laughs ). I’m not surfing it as well as him.” The board was so recognizable there. I caught a sick one and brought the board back to his house. On the cab ride to the airport, I got tears in my eyes. It was a special moment.

How did the New York Times get involved?

When the film premiered at DOC NYC (an annual documentary film festival in New York City), I could feel there was interest in a way to get it to a bigger audience. And I had made that promise to the Februarys that the film would have a good premiere and not drown on the internet. Talking with my producers, we wondered about getting it on an airline flight (still a dream of mine). Then a producer shared it with the New York Times , and they got back immediately. It’s actually very rare for the Times to license and premiere a sports documentary. Most of the Op-Docs are not telling the stories of athletes. But they felt the film spoke to some important themes and topics, and that it would be interesting timing to release it leading up to the Olympics.

Mikey’s opinion piece was an excellent pairing with this film as well.

That was a beautiful thing. He was able to express his experience in the exact way he wanted to. It’s not that often you get to hear how important that last name is to him, how he’s trying to honor that name. He feels there’s power in the name. Something we spoke about in the process was, how do we make this true and honest to their experience in a way that’s communicated how they would communicate it. Mikey’s got a gentle approach to these things. So it had to feel soulful. It had to have the spirit of him. And it can be hard to do that when you’re reading something in black and white. But I think the opinion piece together with the film does that, and it makes me happy we were able to achieve such a thing.

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