Déplacer Le Silence

Our friend Lola Mignot just released a new project with filmmaker Oscar Valencia. We jumped on the phone with Lola to catch up on what she’s been up to.

Hi Lola! Tell us about this project you’ve been working on with Oscar.

It started last summer. I moved to Biarritz for two months; I had a little apartment there, and out of the blue, Oscar messaged me on Instagram and asked if I was interested to work on a project with him. I saw his work, and I’d seen that he worked with Margaux [Arramon] before and a lot of mutual friends, so I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is perfect because I’m going to be here for a while.’ What he had in mind was kind of an idea that I’d thought of as well, so it fell into place really easily and naturally… He came around, and we had a drink and talked about the movie and started it a couple of days later.

Where and when was that?

End of September, early October in Biarritz. We were mostly at the point break, but the tides were changing a lot, and you had to time it right. But it was still really fun. We’d go surfing, and go eat and go to the flea markets. Oscar would bring his baby, and his wife, and I had Margaux there for local knowledge to show us the waves in between the tides.

And what was Margaux’s role in the film?

She was reading the poem in the grass with my cousin, and she’s also surfing in it. She’s a Vans team rider as well. And she’s one of my really good friends, so it was so nice to have her as part of it.

It sounds like there’s a bit of a crew in Biarritz.

I really felt at home there. I spent a lot of time with Lee-Ann Curren and Lucy, and Margaux and they make me feel right at home. We did a lot of dinners. I always wanted to live in France—I was born there—so last year, I decided to really put my time into it and try it out to see how it felt. And I could honestly live there. The people are so sweet, there’s fun waves and good food. I’m definitely going back this summer.

That’s cool… do you see similarities between Biarritz and Sayulita?

I guess. It’s a tight community, and they respect each other as well as the locals. Everybody has their circle of friends, which was great because I could move around and meet a bunch of people, not just the surfers but skaters and everything. It’s really fun and there’s always something happening, and Sayulita has that too. It’s very alive. People take the time to create events for the community and for others to come in and join. Like the Queen’s Festival that Margoux organized—2000 people came to that and they created live music and an entire women’s surfing event.

That’s rad. What does the ideal day look like while you’re living in Biarritz?

Straight to coffee first… Two coffees, maybe. We had this little car called a caribou that my friend rented to us for two euros a day… going around the roundabout, it felt like it was going to flip, but it took us from A to B.

Boards on the roof?

No, inside—they fit perfectly! And we would just lay at the beach all day and surf. Most days I’d surf six hours. And everybody comes over; a huge Californian crew and everyone from Australia.

And the wine and cheese? Is that part of it down there?

Oh yes, every day! We had a little cheese and a little wine at the house… There’s a nice little natural wine place in Biarritz, so we’d spend a lot of time down there. We actually brought a lot of cider from where my family lives. We brought 36 bottles of cider, so we had that for the whole month… It’s really good cider but by the end, we couldn’t have any more.

Red or white wine?

I like a light red.

Very cool. Back on the project: what is the meaning of the name?

Déplacer Le Silence: shifting in silence. It comes from the poem that Margaux read in the film. It’s from this book by Etel Adnan; it has a bunch of great poems, and we’d read it to each other as we sunbaked. One of many good books Margaux owns.

Did you want to portray that in the film?

I had never really experienced the summer in Europe. It was so fulfilling. It’s like being in a movie. Filming all that in 16mm and 8mm is timeless. It made us have more feel for what we’re working on.

Do you relate surfing to silence? Or to noise?

More silence. It’s one of the places I can calm myself down when things are hectic. It’s just you and the ocean, and if you’re feeling crazy, go in the water! I talk to myself a lot when I’m in the water—lots of good things—or there’s always a song in my head, but when you’re on the wave, you finally get that moment where it’s just silence.

Do you miss Biarritz?

I miss it almost every day. I was thinking about staying and living there. I started building a life there and would start to have a routine there and have really close friends there. It’s now like Biarritz is my third home because I consider California my second home.

Any plans to move back to France?

I’m definitely going back this summer for three months, but when the winter comes around, Lola leaves. Byee!

The endless summer thing.

Yeah, I’ve been doing it. I’ll be in California, and if the winter starts, I’ll go to Australia, and then come back to Mexico and repeat. But now I’m in the mountains freezing… But I like it!

After seeing shots of your board against the wall - which wall (in the world) is your favorite to rest your board against?

Definitely the Malibu wall. It’s a classic. And seeing all the boards there in the Summer and trying to find a spot to put your board. And it’s so packed with all types of surfboards, and you get to look at all of these amazing boards and acknowledge different shapers and surfers side by side. You can share boards like, ‘You try this, and you try mine.’ It’s definitely the best wall to put your board on.

Can you talk to us about the creative process of the film and how you went about it?
A lot of it was what Oscar first had come up with as we talked about the film. I pulled my cousin into it because I like to make projects with other people around and create with people that I love—and there’s no one better than Charlotte my cousin. Everything fell together really nicely, and working with Oscar was so fun and inspiring because he’s like a teenager that loves filming and surfing and anything that’s creative. His real passions.

I want to meet him.

Yes! He’s the best - I would take him on all my surf trips… but he’s just had a baby that’s 9 months old.

Sounds like a really great summer.

One of the best.

And now you’ve got a film to showcase from it?

I know! I feel like that will always be there, and I’m so grateful for that. It was the best time with the Queens Classic was on. It was so fun because it was also my birthday and Margaux’s birthday, so the celebration was, like, three or four days. And it will happen again this Summer around the same time, so I’m really happy about that. I get to do my birthday again there with all my friends.

Is it a good spot to longboard?

There’s some fun spots that are better than others, but you can’t surf without a leash at a lot of them. So we can’t surf there in Summer—we don’t have leash plugs. It’s something the locals like Margaux are struggling with because there’ll be thirty people learning with one instructor and boards going everywhere. It doesn’t make sense. It’s hard to surf around there, and Brazil, too, where they need leashes. In Australia too! A lot of people that don’t know how to longboard think it’s cool not to wear a leash. If you’re learning—wear one. And then, when you get better, you can take it off.

What’s the feeling of the film?

It’s quite romantic. Oscar had something in the mind of romantically French, and with the music and film, he really captured that feeling. It’s exciting. I hadn’t made a surf movie in a while, so I’m really happy for this to be out in the world.

For more of Oscar’s work you can check his Instagram here—and Lola’s here.