Experiencing Interruptions?

Ceibo

What is the cost of our consumption? It’s replacing the precious marine life in our oceans with plastic, poisoning our rivers and destroying communities as our demand for new technology escalates and our dependence on fossil fuels continues.
What can we learn from women in Ecuador where they are deeply connected to their landscapes and communities and where these impacts are felt first?

Ceibo follows surfers Pacha Light and Lucy Small who journey across Ecuador to learn from women how we can better coexist with our planet. From the land rights struggles of the Andes and the Amazon, to an Olympic surfer who has carved out a path for women, to the fight to protect the waters of the Galapagos Islands, Ceibo explores some of the most important struggles of our time. Along the way, Pacha untangles her own evolving identity as she reconnects with her Ecuadorian roots and embraces what it means to be Ecuadorian.

Ceibo is made with an all female cast and crew.

We have subtitles in French, Spanish, English and Portuguese available.

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Español:

¿Cuál es el costo de nuestro consumo? Está reemplazando la valiosa vida marina de nuestros océanos con plástico, envenenando nuestros ríos y destruyendo comunidades mientras nuestra demanda por nuevas tecnologías se dispara y nuestra dependencia de los combustibles fósiles continúa.
¿Qué podemos aprender de las mujeres en Ecuador, donde están profundamente conectadas con sus paisajes y comunidades, y donde estos impactos se sienten primero?

Ceibo sigue a las surfistas Pacha Light y Lucy Small, quienes viajan por Ecuador para aprender de las mujeres cómo podemos convivir mejor con nuestro planeta. Desde las luchas por los derechos territoriales en los Andes y la Amazonía, hasta una surfista olímpica que ha abierto camino para las mujeres, pasando por la lucha para proteger las aguas de las Islas Galápagos, Ceibo explora algunas de las luchas más importantes de nuestro tiempo. En el camino, Pacha va desenredando su propia identidad en evolución mientras se reconecta con sus raíces ecuatorianas y abraza lo que significa ser ecuatoriana.

  • Lucy Small
    Director
    Yama
  • Maddie Meddings
    Director
    Yama
  • Lucy Small
    Writer
    Yama
  • Lucy Small
    Producer
    Yama
  • Pacha Light
    Co-Producer
  • Maddie Meddings
    Filmer and Editor
    Yama
  • Pacha Light
    Key Cast
  • Lucy Small
    Key Cast
  • Muyu Flores
    Key Cast
  • Dominic Barona
    Key Cast
  • Elizabeth Virkina Swanson Andi
    Key Cast
  • Carolina Pesantez
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    59 minutes 2 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 31, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    75,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia, Ecuador, United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Ecuador
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Global Premiere
    Sydney
    Australia
    April 8, 2025
    Global premiere
  • UK Premiere
    London
    United Kingdom
    April 26, 2025
    UK Premiere
  • Flotsam Festival
    Gold Coast
    Australia
    May 11, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Brest Surf Film festival
    Brest
    France
    May 9, 2025
    European Premiere
    Prix de la Fondation Banque Populaire & Credit Maritime Grand Ouest
  • Noosa Surf Film Festival
    Noosa
    Australia
    June 10, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Portuguese Surf Film Festival
    Ericeira
    Portugal
    July 21, 2025
    Portuguese Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Belgium Premiere
    Antwerp
    Belgium
    August 27, 2025
    Belgium Premiere
  • Irish Premiere
    Bundoran
    Ireland
    August 29, 2025
    Irish Premiere
Director Biography - Lucy Small, Maddie Meddings

Lucy Small and Maddie Meddings have worked on two collaborative projects together, Ceibo being their second co-direction and first feature.

Maddie Meddings is a surf, travel and lifestyle photographer and filmmaker, based on the weather beaten bluffs of North Cornwall, UK. Maddie’s work embodies the coastal experience, whether that’s taking a glimpse beneath its waters, swimming the seemingly infinite shoreline or, of course, surfing its scabrous seas. With a penchant for all things outdoors, Maddie aims to capture the utilisation of the wildest corners and those that reside there.

Lucy Small was brought into the spotlight in 2021 when she called out the organisers of a surf contest in Sydney for awarding less than half of the prize money to the women than the men in a video that went viral and made global news headlines. Since then, Lucy has continued to shine a light on issues of gender equality in sport through her campaign Equal Pay for Equal Play.

Lucy was the first longboard surfer on the cover of the iconic masthead Tracks in a shot that was the first time two women (surfer and photographer) had teamed up for the cover of Tracks in its 50 year history. Lucy has been a WSL Longboard World Tour competitor and represented Australia in the ISA World Longboard Championships.

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