Windsurfing documentary with depth: Elena Šandera and Jonas Nellissen in an interview about "The Wind In Her Hands"

Going to the Olympics as a complete newcomer on the iQFOiL? It sounds absurd, but that was the mission of Swiss skier Elena Šandera. Filmmaker Jonas Nellissen accompanied the 21-year-old and has now released the film "The Wind In Her Hands". The 80-minute film has won awards at festivals and has recently been released on Amazon Prime and Apple TV. The film will be screened at the Cinemare Festival at Hansa48 in Kiel on 7 May, tickets and information can be found here: cinemare.org

Yet "The Wind In Her Hands" is not a typical sports documentary: With long, artistic shots and interspersed poetry recitations, another level is created that goes beyond the competition. Elena addresses her problems with anorexia and a rape she experienced, and undergoes a noticeable development over the course of filming. We spoke to Elena and Jonas about "The Wind In Her Hands" and Elena's Olympic campaign.

• "The Wind In Her Hands" on Amazon Prime
• "The Wind In Her Hands" on Apple TV
• "The Wind In Her Hands" at Adventure Sports

How did the idea for the film come about and how did you get to know each other?

JonasWhen my daughter got a bit older, I wanted to do more windsurfing myself and got into the windsurfer insta-bubble. That's how I came across Elena and immediately found her project fascinating, wanting to go to the Olympics in such a short space of time. Shortly before the 2023 World Championships in The Hague, we spoke to each other for the first time and agreed that I would come there and we would give it a go. At the time, there was also the option that it might turn into an NDR or SRF documentary. In the end, I was glad that it didn't become a TV documentary, but that we were able to find our own style.

What was it like for you, Elena, when Jonas approached you and wanted to make a film?

Elena: I was delighted, but I also thought, what does he want to say about me, there's really nothing there. When I watch sports documentaries, I think of Serena Williams or Roger Federer, the really great ones who have already achieved everything, and I didn't see myself there at all. The reason why I said yes was more because I realised that Jonas also has a dream: He wants to make a documentary film, and I have my own dream, and if I can support Jonas with my story, then I want to do it.

So you both supported, inspired and pushed each other?

Jonas: I would even say that Elena pushed me in particular. I was often faced with the ethical question of how far I could intervene, how close I could get, because I didn't want to influence the sporting result under any circumstances. Sensitive topics in particular would not have been addressed in the context of a competition. For various reasons, I really wanted to make a long documentary film that was more artistic and creative, and I saw that in this story. She was a great inspiration for me at that point in my life. Someone who is so resilient and also deals with the pitfalls that you discover along the way and continues to grow as a result. I doubt whether I was that important to Elena (laughs).

Elena: I see the documentary film as a really great gift. Having my own journey as a film about a very important time in my life is super cool!

Were you alone with a camera, Jonas? Or did you accompany Elena with a whole camera team?

Jonas: No, I was always completely alone. First and foremost, that was for budget reasons, but it's also an advantage in documentary films because the smaller the whole thing is, the less noticeable it is, even for the protagonists. But sometimes it would have been great if I'd had a second operator. One person on land and one filming on the press boat. So I always had to make a decision, because after the iQFOiL lesson I had to watch all the other classes on the press boat for another three and a half hours before I was back on land, and then Elena was already gone. I always had to think about what was more important today, land or water?

Elena, were you always aware that there was a camera filming you and did you behave accordingly?

Elena: No, not at all. I'm actually used to being in front of the camera, I do a lot on Instagram myself. But when I saw the film, there were a few things in it that I didn't know if I would say again if I had been more aware that there was a camera. But at the same time, I'm also glad that it's extremely authentic. I never pretended, but there were certain moments when it was difficult to realise that there was a camera on.

You've already mentioned that you wanted to make a documentary film with an artistic aspect. What does that mean to you and how did you keep this artistic aspect in mind while working on the film?

Jonas: That developed during the filming. It wasn't as strong in The Hague, but you can see how the visual language changed later on. It was great for me, I like these typical festival documentaries, the artistic documentaries, because they ask questions instead of answering them. Later, I came up with more and more ideas on how to realise this. I have a certain visual language and a narrative style that I had already established before, but it only really manifested itself in this feature-length film. For example, reciting the poems, that came relatively late. I realised that we needed another level for this trauma that was slumbering down there and coming up, and for what had happened to Elena in that time. In the long shots that are shown from time to time, in the caesuras, you are supposed to deal with your own thoughts rather than being told what happens next or how you should feel at the moment.

Elena, were you able to get involved on this level straight away?

Elena: I remember well that during the last interview at my house, Jonas suddenly gave me a few pieces of paper and said, read these poems aloud. I asked myself, how can you incorporate that? I couldn't imagine what he was getting at. But I think it's extremely cool how it came out. And I trusted him completely that he had his vision. It's not my film. It tells my story, but Jonas decides where the film wants to go.

The film tells the story of your mission, Elena: you want to go to the Olympics as a complete beginner. Why iQFOiL in particular? Why the Olympics and not another windsurfing discipline?

Elena: That I was on the iQFOiL was actually an easy decision. I was at Lake Garda in the summer of 2020 and saw the Italian teams training there for the first time. It was impressive to see the field with exactly the same sails and the same boards. iQFOiL simply fascinated me. I also got a taste of the PWA World Cup once, but I found it boring because back then it was always just downwind slalom. I find this other level of strategy and tactics extremely interesting in iQFOiL. At the same time, it's also extremely difficult without experience, it's a level that takes years to build up. And the Olympics is the highest goal you can have. I mean, if you have the chance to be there, who would say no?

It was always clear to me that I couldn't sell myself as an athlete because I didn't have any good results. I marketed the project itself, which worked pretty well."

How did you go about getting the budget and support as a newcomer?

Elena: It was always clear to me that I couldn't sell myself as an athlete because I didn't have good results. I marketed the project itself, which worked pretty well. I mainly spoke to people who were windsurfers themselves or are still windsurfers. I think this Olympic dream sells pretty well because a lot of people used to have it themselves. As an athlete you always have this pressure to perform, I didn't have that. I wasn't the best in the world and have to stay on top so that my sponsors are loyal to me, but I have people who are there because of the whole journey. When things go badly, they don't just look at the paper, they ask what the problem is and how they can support me.

Inevitably, the film also deals a lot with setbacks. Did you sometimes have doubts?

Elena: Of course! I think you always have them, no matter what you do. There were a lot of setbacks, but I don't think any more than with others. I'm glad that I didn't realise what I was getting myself into at the beginning, I have to be honest. I may have had ideas that were a bit overconfident and yes, I may have set my sights too high too soon. And yet, I think I've only got this far because I set myself such high goals. It's always okay for me to fail. I'd rather give it my all and then it doesn't work out than carefully feel my way and then give up when it doesn't work out so that it doesn't become embarrassing. That's not my style.

You say in the film that you get to know yourself better in the lows than in the highs. What did you learn about yourself during the first campaign?

Elena: Extremely much. For example, I'm now working with a mental coach, which is still by far my biggest problem. Technically, I'm actually fully on board, tacking, jibing, speed, it's all there. What I find extremely difficult in every competition is the mental aspect. I develop a lot in training, but I never manage to have a breakthrough in competition. I'm not mentally flexible enough to adapt extremely quickly to the conditions when it gets gusty or the wind shifts. And if I can analyse and change that, it will be extremely helpful for the rest of my life.

The film also deals with difficult topics such as your anorexia and sexual abuse. Was that part of the plan from the outset to also address this or did it come up in the course of the work?

Jonas: It became clear relatively quickly that this had to play a role. There is this external journey, the Olympic qualification, and the internal one, which is much more decisive for me. In the very first interview in The Hague, we at least talked about anorexia and I made it clear that we would talk about many topics. You need the right moment for everything. There was more calm in Lanzarote, and the final interview in Zurich was of course in a completely different atmosphere. It was then helpful for me to Podcast episode of "World of Windsurfgirls"in which Elena talks about the sexual abuse for the first time, as a quote because it was such an immediate moment. Interestingly, during my visit to Zurich, I heard the sentence that shame has to change sides - even before Gisele Pelicot said it. And I believe that in this respect, the open presentation also corresponds to Elena's intention.

Elena: I forgot about the camera pretty quickly during the interviews, which were almost more conversations between you and me, Jonas. It was then easy to get involved in the topic. When I realise that other people have seen and heard it, it's a different story. But so far I've only had positive news, thankfully. And it's nothing that makes me feel ashamed, in fact I find it extremely liberating when everything I've experienced is now out there. There's nothing that's a secret anymore, but everything that I am, everything that I've experienced, can be seen. And that means it no longer rests on my shoulders alone.

I feel like I owe it to other women who can't talk about it or haven't been supported to bring the issue out into the open."

You're generally very open about it, even on your Instagram account. Was the film another channel for you to make it public so that the shame changes sides?

Elena: Yes, definitely. I often talk about feminism and women's rights on Instagram, but I've never really addressed the specific fact that I experienced rape. I experienced it, but it's not necessarily a part of me, it happened and luckily I was able to process it. Because I opened up, a lot of things came back. I had suppressed it for an extremely long time. I couldn't sleep alone for weeks afterwards. I couldn't drive a car. Everything just came up. I then had to go to therapy quickly and dealt with everything. I'm now completely okay. But I had this support and the environment in which I could and was allowed to talk about it. That's why I feel I have to talk about it openly. Because I can. I was allowed to process it. And that's why I feel like I owe it to other women who can't talk about it or weren't supported to bring the issue out into the open.

What was the reaction to the film from the iQFOiL scene?

Elena: Many people talk to me at the events and say that they have seen the film. But I also get longer messages from a lot of women saying how cool that you're talking about it so openly. But I think windsurfing gets forgotten a bit because anorexia and sexual abuse get the most attention.

The film ends with you missing out on qualification for the 2024 Olympics, but you're sticking with it and want to go to L.A. in 2028?

ElenaFor me, it was very clear that I didn't want to give up, I was so close, I wanted to keep going. And the path for me as a person is also very important, how I develop now. When I see a few scenes in the film, I think what a baby I was back then. And it's simply the right path for me at the moment. I'm studying healthcare management at the same time and I'm still open to maybe going back into medicine. But at the moment it feels right to keep going and I have the feeling that I still have a lot to give and I'm not yet where I could be.

Elena continues, will there be a second part of the film?

Jonas: There are ideas for it, but we are not actively pursuing that at the moment. We would need some kind of funding for that, as an in-house production it would no longer be feasible, because this film was a huge investment for me financially and in terms of time. But of course we had the logical idea: what's the next step after L.A.? We've tackled the big issues, now the sporting side of things could take centre stage. What I would also find exciting would be a kind of portrait series set in the Fleet rather than just Elena. In the beginning, I also had the ambition to explain surfing in order to familiarise more people with it.

Don't warn your daughters, but educate your boys!"

This film has certainly been well received, you won the documentary award at the Snowdance Festival and then at the Matera Sport Film Festival. You're on Amazon. It seems like the subject and your style have potential, doesn't it?

Jonas: Yes, I hope so. For one thing, I'm a perfectionist and rarely satisfied. I would have liked a lot more. On the other hand, I keep thinking that things are going quite well for this small indie production. We've been to a few festivals and have won an award at every screening. In my perception, most surf films come from the motivation of the athletes themselves and are therefore often more of an image film. Longer films, such as the recent Dunkerbeck documentary "Born to Windsurf" are rare. But first and foremost, I hope that the film and its themes will not only serve the bubble in socio-political terms, but perhaps also open the minds and hearts of one or two teenagers or young people. Don't warn your daughters, educate your boys. And I think that's a very important point!

More about "The Wind In Her Hands" and the protagonists at videoproduktion-siehste-film.de and on Instagram:

@thewindinherhandsfilm
@elena.sandera
@jonas_n_siehste_film