Frenchwoman Nouria Newman is a dominant force in whitewater kayaking. Her astonishing new film, Wild Waters, follows her adventure as a kayaking nomad, where she claims the first descent of Pucuno falls in Ecuador and becomes the first woman to bag a first descent of 100ft+ (30.48m) waterfall drop into the bargain.
After years at the forefront of her sport, claiming first descents around the world, and winning awards and recognition for her intrepid expeditions, it was in making a first descent of the Río Pucuno in Ecuador that Newman broke this latest boundary. In February of 2021, she successfully dropped what are now known as Don Wilo’s Falls.
In doing so, she became the first female kayaker to make a first descent of a falls over 100ft, eclipsing the 82ft (25m) recorded by Christie Glissmeyer at Metlako Falls in 2009 and winning herself a fifth consecutive Rider of the Year title at the Whitewater Awards.
Now viewers can see exactly how she faced up to the challenge in the new documentary, Wild Waters. The film offers a dive into the adventurous existence of the freestyle kayaking legend. Film-maker David Arnaud was able to immerse himself in her daily life for two years to retrace her journey from childhood to this incredible new record.
After a personal tragedy, Newman decided to leave for a globe-trotting adventure that she hoped would enable her to reconnect, not just with others with others, but also with herself. She explained: “It’s not all about sports. On a social or mental level, it goes far beyond. We touch on universal subjects. That’s the richness of this film and sport generally.”
The film reveals the non-conformist personality behind the elite athlete who, at just 30 years old, already has a huge list of achievements, including: three-time extreme kayaking world champion and five-time rider of the year.
Newman’s horizon-expanding expeditions are already well documented, with several films exploring unique spots among the most beautiful landscapes in the world, including the Himalayas, Patagonia and most recently on frozen rivers in Iceland.
Extreme kayaker Nouria Newman had to overcome a severe lack of water and violent winds when she travelled to Iceland for the first time to tackle its scenic rivers and stunning waterfalls.
Newman started out her career with a European junior team title before she became 2013 Extreme Kayaking World Champion and won a K1 team gold at the 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships.
She has also carved out time for other amazing projects such as a spiritual solo Indian trip in 2018, along with a thrilling Devil’s Slide drone project with TomZ in Italy and wild Patagonia trip in 2019.
Chilean Patagonia boasts countless wild rivers that have yet to be kayaked with fierce and swift-changing weather systems making for even more uncertain passage down the rapids. For over two months the team kayaked nine rivers, garnering four first descents and the second human-powered descent of the Pasqua – one of Patagonia’s largest rivers. The team’s main goal was to complete the triple crown of Patagonian kayaking – the Baker, the Bravo and the Pasqua, which had been attempted in 2017 by a team led Evan Garcia.
For Nouria Newman, India was the ultimate voyage of self-discovery. Alone with only her kayak for company for seven days in August 2018, she survived an accident en route to the finish 375 kilometres later. Tackling the treacherous rivers of Leh, she kayaked down a trio of rivers: the Tsarap, Zanskar and Indus, often in dangerous conditions and glacial waters, and sleeping by the riverside each night.
She had never planned to go to northern India, and originally flew to India for the Malabar River Fest. Because of the floods and administrative difficulties, it proved impossible. But she told herself that if she went back to France now with all this built-up frustration she would never come back.
That is when she decided to stay longer and head north to achieve her goal. The pictures were superb and so appealing that she decided she just had to do it.
These all have been parts of a long, adventurous journey for Newman, which took her to Ecuador this time.