6th April 2010 Review by Stuart Nettle.

Surfing casts a wide net these days.

Far from it's first world beginnings as a youthful, male-oriented pastime, surfing is now done by all walks of people on all surfable coastlines. A quick scan of recent surf movie releases depicts surfing by a disabled man in Oregon, a young Bangladeshi boy and an adventure to the wild coast of west Africa. There are many stories being told.

Surprisingly though not many of these stories belong to female surfers. In fact none come immediately to mind. Surprising because of the sheer number of young female surfers that now get in the water.

Whether intentional or not the makers of First Love have begun to correct this imbalance.

First Love is a snapshot in the lives of Philip Island surfers, Jess Laing, Nikki van-Dijk and India Payne. All three girls are of similar age, live near each other, surf together and compete together. The similarity of their circumstances highlights the differences in their personality; Nikki the girl who would be Queen; quick-witted India; and Jess the cruiser, quietly overcoming adversity.

The story of three young girls that live in close proximity and feed off their collective energy to propel themselves higher has a familiar ring about it. Swap the gender, rewind the tape ten year, then roll it again in Coolangatta and you have a similar story, and we all know how that turned out. Three surfers - Mick, Parko and Dean - who used their collective energy to take them to places they never dreamed they'd go.

But enough of the men, and besides, when I mentioned this to Clare Plueckhahn, one of the film-makers, after the screening she was genuinely surprised, any similarity unintentional.

Essentially First Love is a story about the three girls trying to get to Hawaii to surf. Along the way we are introduced to many of their Philip Island friends, a couple of brothers (g'day Joe!), and watch them all surfing the waves around the island. If crusty old blokes in the line up are worried about more women entering the water then look out, cos these girls rip. As do their friends. Keep your eye out for a cameo appearance by Amy Stuart and a hearty layback snap to boot.

All of the girls, at some stage, attempt to explain what surfing means to them, and in clumsy but wholly unselfconcious ways they bounce toward answers that seem so simple. It's not deep but their passion is sincere, and damn infectious too.

For mine though, the strength of the film is in the images. Clare Gorman, another of the film-makers, is an experienced operator and it shows in the camera work, which steps up a notch when they arrive in Hawaii. Fast edits, live takes and big waves serve to show the girls a long way from home on Hawaii's North Shore.

It's not quite the same North Shore that has filled the surf media for years however, a camaraderie exists in women surfing that is absent or, at best, feigned, on the testosterone-fuelled mens circuit. The girls were privy to star company and the film-makers were very fortunate to have the cameras rolling when the big names called by: Coco Ho, Alana Blanchard and Steph Gilmore, who fairly lights up the screen.

It feels like there is a movement happening in women's surfing at the moment, talented groups of girls feeding off each other to reach new goals in surfing, and I predict that First Love will be the first of many such stories. Subsequent films will have to shoot high to match the quality.

First Love is a Liquid Pictures production. For screenings and further information visit: www.firstlovethefilm.com