[1] The film is a portrait of surfer Maya Gabeira and her struggles to be taken seriously as a woman in a male-dominated sport, focusing in part on the role that sexism played in the response to her injuries while trying to surf a giant wave at Praia do Norte in 2013.
[3] Maya Gabeira grows up in Rio de Janeiro, begins competing in surfing at age 15, and turns pro at 17.
Adam Benzine of Deadline highlighted the film as "beautiful and inspiring" as well as "magnificent," noting its in-depth look at Gabeira’s injury, rehabilitation, and eventual comeback.
[5] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote a mostly positive review, remarking, "the film more than succeeds in its primary goals of providing an inspirational role model plus lots of stupendous surfing footage, a combination that will enthrall most viewers."
However, he felt that the film's narrative was sometimes poorly organized, and it failed to adequately examine the complicated relationship between Gabeira and her "first major mentor and coach," Carlos Burle.