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La Maestra

A young Mexican woman changes and inspires her small Baja fishing village by following her own path.

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La Maestra

La Maestra

La Maestra

La Maestra

La Maestra

A young Mexican woman changes and inspires her small Baja fishing village by following her own path.

A young Mexican woman changes and inspires her small Baja fishing village by following her own path.

A young Mexican woman changes and inspires her small Baja fishing village by following her own path.

A young Mexican woman changes and inspires her small Baja fishing village by following her own path.

Elizabeth Pepin Silva
Elizabeth Pepin Silva
Elizabeth Pepin Silva
Elizabeth Pepin Silva
2 Campaigns |
Baja Sur, Mexico
$15,619 USD 255 backers
104% of $15,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

La Maestra (The Teacher) is a half-hour documentary about a young Mexican woman who decides to follow her own path and in doing so, inspires other to do the same and changes her community's expectations of what's appropriate for girls and women. The film profiles Mayra Agulair, a teacher in a tiny rural fishing village in Baja, Mexico, who becomes the first Mexican woman surfer in her area. Told in Spanish with English subtitles using mainly Mayra's voice, the film shows how she has gone on to inspire both her students and other local women to take up the sport and follow their dreams. Through her deep connection to the ocean, Mayra has also become an environmentalist, teaching her students the importance of land and sea stewardship through hands on learning. In the film, Mayra talks about the amazing surfing waves in her town -- a gift of nature that has brought thousands of gringo surfers to the area over the years, forever changing Mayra's hometown in both positive and negative ways. In this regard, the film is also a subtle commentary on the impact outsider surf tourists can have on small communities around the globe and the need for all of us to be mindful of taking care of the environment, no matter where we are.  La Maestra (The Teacher) is an important film because it features a strong Latina woman role model that will appeal to everyone.  There is no surf media hype, no surf company sponsors, and no surf industry to spoil the soul of this film.

This Film Is Unique

Surf movies are filmed all over the world, but usually it’s Americans, Australians, and/or Europeans traveling to exotic locals and talking about what they are seeing, and it’s rare that the filmmakers bother to interview the local people who are born and raised in these locations or capture their daily experiences of living and surfing there year-round. La Maestra (The Teacher) is unique in that it’s a story about a local woman, told entirely in Spanish, through our character’s own voice, not the voices of outsiders. Our cameras follow Mayra throughout her day, giving viewers a rare glimpse into the life of this young Mexican teacher and surfer who was born and continues to live and work in her tiny, remote village.

We hope that through screenings and outreach events, as well as through educational DVD copies distributed throughout CA and Baja, Mexico, that La Maestra (The Teacher) will generate discussions about gender, the challenges facing women who step out of traditional roles, the growth mindset, the impacts of outsiders on small rural communities, and the need for all of us to care for the environment. Our hope is that viewers will gain an awareness of the issues facing women surfers, as well as understand that when we travel, we have an impact on the communities we visit – in both positive and negative ways. It is also our hope that Mayra’s story will also encourage other girls and women to feel comfortable following their own path, and for everyone to care for the land and for their communities.

While La Maestra (The Teahcer) will have immediate resonance with surfing audiences around the globe, it is intended for a wider viewership throughout the world via television, community screenings, and outreach events held with non-profit and educational groups.

What We Need

Making a documentary is incredibly expensive and labor intensive. Below are the areas of post-production to which we will be directing campaign funds. Post-production is what happens after you turn off the cameras and start putting the story together in the edit room. Complete post-production and you’ll leave the edit room with a broadcast ready movie. We want to take our raw footage and make a beautiful, inspiring, and moving film, and with your support -- we will!

Editing – we have a rough cut but need money to finish the editing process and get the film ready for film festivals, outreach screenings, and broadcast.

Film Graphics & Titles – so you know what you are watching and who made it!

Color Correction – We tried really hard to capture the images in a beautiful and creative way, but since we were filming on multiple days, sometimes there were issues with light and color balance. Color correction makes everything look beautiful in its own way.

Audio Mix & Sound Sweetening – So you don’t have to turn up or down the audio when you are watching our film and the songs don’t overpower people’s sound bites.

Outreach screenings – it takes money to put on a show!

Free DVD copies for teachers throughout Baja – Important because many towns in Baja have intermittent power and very slow internet service so digital files of the film are often useless.

You Know This Film Will Get Done

We’re not going to take your money and go on a year-long surf safari. Making films and shooting photos is what we do for a living even though we probably could make better money working at McDonalds. We both have decades-long track records of creating beautiful, moving, and educational film and photo projects that people like to watch and that win awards, and La Maestra (The Teacher) will be no different.

Paul is a San Francisco father, husband, surfer, inner city high school teacher, photographer, traveler, gardener, and filmmaker. When he is not engaged in these activities he is sleeping. He’s traveled to more than 60 countries on six continents.  Paul’s photographs have appeared in galleries and have been featured in books in the United States, Europe, and Japan, as well as in Surfers Journal and other international magazines.  His images are also in many collections around the globe.

Elizabeth is an Ojai wife, surfer, filmmaker, photographer, and writer. She and her husband grow their own food and like to play with their dog, cat, and chickens when not sliding down a wave, riding their bikes, or hiking in the mountains behind their home. For nearly 18 years, Elizabeth has been making films independently and for PBS and has won five Emmy Awards and several film festival awards for her television and documentary film work. Elizabeth’s photographs have been shown in galleries and museums and featured in publications and books around the world, and she has written a book on San Francisco jazz history that was published by Chronicle Books in 2006.

Why We Wanted to Make This Film

Paul: I have been traveling to Mexico and to Baja since I a was a baby.  My mother is from Mexico and I have family throughout Northern Baja and Jalisco, and as a child, we would make the two hour journey across the border regularly.  Mexico brings me happiness and joy and I’m always in awe of how kind and resilient the people are.  Mexico is family to me.  I think that most surfers and travelers who visit Mexico see it as a vacationland and neglect to really see the people who live there.  If we were to rely on the media and stereotypes about Mexico we would be left to think that Mexico is a lawless place run by drug cartels, where banditos are lurking behind every corner waiting for the opportunity rob and kill you.  I wanted this film to give viewers a glimpse into a day in the life of a very normal yet somewhat extraordinary woman.  Mayra is a strong woman and a graceful surfer, but really she is no different from surfers and teachers everywhere and that is what I want this film to show: That people are people, I want the viewers to see themselves in Mayra.  Because only when people begin to see the similarities amongst others can we begin to humanize these places that are so misrepresented by the media. 

Elizabeth: La Maestra (The Teacher) is a continuation of my efforts through my films and photography to change the way all women are portrayed in the media and create an alternative voice in surfing by pointing my video and photo lenses at women surfers of all ethnicities and backgrounds, ages, and sizes and shapes. I’m also tired of watching surf movies with the same groups of young white guys in every film – definitely not reflecting what I see in the line-ups around the world. I felt it was time that a local woman at one of these surf spots had a chance to tell her own story.

I began exploring Baja in 1992, and fell in love with the people, culture, and land. I have always wanted to make a film there, but have been limited by my poor Spanish, so I was thrilled when Paul asked if I wanted to make a film with him in Mexico, because his language skills would enable me to finally fulfill my documentary dream. I had briefly met Mayra during a surf trip in 2012, and had taken some photographs of her stylish and graceful surfing and admired her courage to do something different from most of her peers. When Paul said he wanted to make a film with me, I told him about Mayra and we agreed we had the star of our documentary – if only she would agree. Lucky for us, Mayra was fine with us filming her, and once we arrived in Baja, she and her family opened their lives and their home to us, allowing us complete access. We are extremely grateful to the entire Aguilar family for being so generous with their time and their stories, as well as their delicious food.

Risks & Challenges

Making a documentary film isn’t easy, and anything to do with surfing and remote locations makes it even more challenging. Nobody knows that better than us. During our two and a half day drive down the Baja peninsula and the subsequent two weeks in Mayra’s village, our mighty band of intrepid filmmakers had a comical chain of unfortunate events including car engine trouble that occasionally reduced our speed down to 15 miles per hour, terrible road conditions that sometimes disappeared altogether into sandy tracts causing Elizabeth to break into a nervous condition, illness, intermittent power outages, lack of waves, a group of 45 (!!!) camping surfers from San Diego who overran the lineup for days on end, Mexican police stops complete with bribes, and angry gringos worried we were going to disclose “their” secret surf spot. We faced all challenges with laughter (and a few tears) because we believed in Mayra and in our story so much that nothing was going to stop us. We are documentary filmmakers, hear us roar!

Now we face our biggest challenge yet – can we raise enough funds to finish our film?

Other Ways You Can Help

Besides making a financial contribution to our documentary project, we hope you will tell your friends and family about La Maestra (The Teacher). Email our link to anyone you think who would be interested. Talk about our film on your Facebook page and in your Twitter feed. Discuss it with your friends over a few beers. Chat about it out in the line-up. Help us spread the word and get this film made.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you. Without your help, this film will not be possible. 

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Choose your Perk

Tijuana

$1 USD
Thank you! Even one dollar can make a huge difference in getting our film made.
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
10 claimed

Ensenada

$18 USD
A Digital Download of “La Maestra”
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
106 claimed

San Quintin

$48 USD
All of the above plus a DVD of “La Maestra” signed by the filmmakers.
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
48 claimed

El Rosario

$75 USD
All of the above plus a Film Poster of “La Maestra”
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
12 claimed

Guerro Negro

$125 USD
All of the above plus one CD from either Perla Batalla or Neal Casal – both who contributed music to “La Maestra.”
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
6 claimed

San Ignacio

$150 USD
All of the above plus your name in the “Special Thanks” section of the film credits.
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
16 claimed

Santa Rosalia

$200 USD
All of the above plus one 8x10 limited edition surf photograph from “La Maestra.”
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
3 out of 20 of claimed

Mulege

$300 USD
Digital Download, DVD autographed by the filmmakers, Film Poster autographed by the filmmakers, your name in the “Special Thanks” section of the film credits, one 8x10 signed limited edition surf photograph and one 8x10 signed limited edition surf portrait from “La Maestra.” All taken by the filmmakers (who are also well known, published surf photographers!)
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
4 out of 20 of claimed

Loreto

$500 USD
Digital Download, DVD autographed by the filmmakers, Film Poster autographed by the filmmakers, your name in the “Special Thanks” section of the film credits, one 8x10 signed limited edition surf photograph and one 8x10 signed limited edition surf portrait from “La Maestra,” and two 8x10 signed limited edition photographs of Baja, all taken by the filmmakers (who are also well known, published surf photographers!)
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
1 out of 10 of claimed

Cuidad Constitution

$1,000 USD
All of the above plus a limited edition soft cover photo book of Paul and Elizabeth’s Baja photos.
Estimated Shipping
December 2015
0 out of 5 of claimed

Todos Santos

$2,000 USD
Digital Download, DVD & Film Poster autographed by the filmmakers, your name in the “Special Thanks” section of the film credits, two 8x10 surf photographs, two 8x10 surf portraits, two 8x10 photographs of Baja, & a soft cover book of Paul & Elizabeth’s Baja photos -- all signed & limited editions; & two tickets with saved seats to your choice of any CA screening of “La Maestra” (travel, hotel, etc. not included). If Paul or Elizabeth are at the screening, you can even sit
Estimated Shipping
December 2015
0 out of 2 of claimed

San Jose del Cabo

$3,000 USD
All of the above except you get four tickets instead of two to any CA screening of La Maestra, and two different Perla Battala CDs, and two different Neal Casal CDs, signed by the artists.
Estimated Shipping
December 2015
0 out of 2 of claimed

Cabo San Lucas

$5,000 USD
All of the above plus a one hour photo session with either Paul Ferraris, at a beach within a 30 mile radius of San Francisco, CA, or with Elizabeth Pepin Silva, at a beach anywhere within a 50 radius of Ventura, CA. If you surf, this can be a surf photo session, shot from the beach with a long lens. Images taken will be put on a DVD and sent to the funder within 30 days of photo session.
Estimated Shipping
December 2015
0 out of 2 of claimed

La Paz

$10,000 USD
All of the above plus Executive Producer credit! Yes, your name on the big screen for all to see and admire, plus our eternal gratitude that you helped make our film a reality. We’ll also have dinner with you and a guest at a Mexican restaurant of our choice in San Francisco (travel, hotel, etc. is not included) where we can talk about the film and your great work as the EP.
Estimated Shipping
December 2015
0 out of 1 of claimed
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