Westerly is a feature length documentary film about Peter Drouyn and his controversial metamorphosis into Westerly Windina.
Peter Drouyn was one of surfing’s first superstars. A true visionary,
he dominated the international competitive ranks in the ’60s and ’70s,
invented man-on-man surfing, and introduced surfing to China. He was an
actor, a lawyer, a father, a ladies’ man, and most of all, a chameleon.
But there was much about Peter Drouyn that he kept private. As a
child, he liked to dress up in women’s clothes. During his competitive
years, he was hypersensitive and introspective amid a culture that was
often macho, myopic, and sexist. For most of his career he felt
ostracized. In the ’80s he drifted away from competitive surfing and all
but disappeared.
In 2002, Peter suffered a traumatic surfing accident that nearly
drowned him. Not long after, Peter’s feminine side fully emerged. “It
was a supernova,” said Westerly. “It just kicked in one night, and
suddenly Peter went, Westerly was there.”
In 2008, Peter Drouyn announced on Australian national television
that he was living as a woman. His new name, she said, was Westerly
Windina. The surf community—and Australia in general—was astonished and
mostly repulsed. Since then, Westerly has been living in public housing
on Australia’s Gold Coast. Her life is not easy. She is alone, poor, and
often taunted by her neighbors.
We will explore Westerly’s past as a man, document her upcoming
gender-reassignment operation in Thailand, and follow her post-up as she
acclimates to the newest chapter of her enigmatic journey.