Rebecca Coley | Filmmaker | Director | Writer | Jersey CI
Rebecca is a filmmaker with experience writing, directing, and producing documentary and fiction films. She has made many short films over the years including the award-winning short surfing documentary CHANGING POINT, and more recently, POINT OF CHANGE, where she worked closely with the community on Nias Island, Indonesia to protect the marine area and reef there.
Rebecca is also the co-founder of Msmono Productions an award-winning production company focused on telling bold, original and ambitious female-centred stories and is a director of the Jersey Surf Film festival.
When did you first start your storytelling journey?
When I was a kid I was always writing stories and making little films. I began more professionally when I was about 18 and decided I wanted to pursue filmmaking as a career.
What are the fondest memories from your upbringing that you feel impacted your life choices and lifestyle today?
When I was growing up my dad ran the beach concession at St Brelades Bay, so my earliest memories are driving with him in his Land Rover to the beach, and running up and down the shoreline, as the tide rolled in and out: Playing on the pedalos and canoes and just being free on the beach.
When I was a teenager we got introduced to surfing at the youth club and since then, I was addicted to surfing and wanted to spend as much time in St Ouens Bay as possible. When I was in my twenties I ran a local surf school for a couple of years and this was a very special time when I loved the beach being the office and observing the changing conditions every day.
What path did you choose after leaving school?
So I originally studied Law at University (Liverpool John Moores) whilst in the city they were making lots of films. I took this opportunity to learn as much as possible and would work as an extra, a runner, a production assistant, or anything to be on set and get experience. After that, I studied for a GNVQ in practical media techniques and learnt about cameras and sound and editing for the first time.
Then I travelled for a few years and spent a long time in Indonesia. I fell in love with the archipelago and particularly the people of Sumatra. I spent a long time there surfing and working in Conservation education before coming home.
When I was in Sumatra I spent a lot of time on Nias Island and in the jungle near Bukit Lawang where you find the rare Sumatran orangutans living in the wild. When I left there was a flash flood that wiped out the village and a lot of people tragically lost their lives.
After that I set up the Bukit Lawang Trust - the Trust will be twenty years old next year and we run a conservation education centre there where we run a youth ranger program and YSE encouraging sustainable enterprise, we offer free education and burasaries for further study and there’s a library there. We also spent time in Nias after the tsunami and helped with immediate aid and building wells in two remote villages. I absolutely love Sumatra, it's a very special place close to my heart.
After working in the film industry in London for seven years I returned to Jersey and I set up DRIFT Retreat which is a surf and yoga retreat and I love this balance, which is the opposite of film making. Filmmaking is fast paced and all-consuming and relentless and DRIFT is a nurturing relaxing retreat away from it all. The guests love it and we spend as much time in the sea as possible and I run the meditative sound bath and I still LOVE to see people’s reactions when they catch a wave for the first time, especially older guests who always wanted to try it, or someone who had a fear of the ocean and it helps them to get over it.
Who/what currently inspires you?
I'm inspired all the time by so many things: By the old ladies I see sea swimming every day, people picking up plastic on the shoreline. So many people trying to make a difference to protect the ocean.
I am very inspired by SeaTrees, Surfers for Climate, Surfers Against Sewage and SurfAid for all their hard work for the ocean.
The team on the ground at Bukit Lawang Trust always inspire me because they are passionate conservationists and they work hard to save the Leuser ecosystem which is the last place on earth where you find wild rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutans living together in the wild. It's a real life jungle book and the local community are amazing custodians of this precious place.
What do you value the most?
I have just completed my documentary feature film POINT OF CHANGE it follows on from my short film CHANGING POINT about Nias Island in Sumatra, Indonesia. The short film follows the true story of Bonne Gea a girl from a Muslim family who became the first Indonesian female surfing champion. She's a trailblazer and very inspiring. The feature film is a look at an island community dramatically changed forever by the 'discovery' of the 'perfect' wave in the 1970s. The remarkable and previously untold true story of the first surf pioneers to ‘discover' the 'Point' on the isolated Indonesian island of Nias and the dramatic consequences and the devastating social and ecological repercussions for the people and place that followed. A contemporary, cautionary tale of paradise lost.
POINT of CHANGE is a compelling and dramatic documentary feature film told through a unique blend of previously unseen archives, contemporary interviews and beautiful animation, featuring new music by Paul Oakenfold and local musicians, to reveal an all too resonant picture of society changed inexorably by powerful economic & environmental forces outside of their control.
Are there any books/documentaries that have guided your thinking, that you'd like to recommend to other ocean lovers?
Documentary: Before the Flood
Book: Blue mind / This changes everything (Naomi Klein)
What would you most like to change in the world/environment today?
I'd like to see governments of the world realise that climate change is upon us and instead of putting profit before the planet, to have some integrity and act fast and do everything possible to protect our oceans and forests.
What legacy do you hope to leave?
Just do my little bit to make the world a bit better. We can only do a little bit, but if everyone does their little bit, then we'll be alright.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to follow their dreams as an ocean Storyteller?
Spend as much time in the ocean as possible and be open to new possibilities all the time.
