The ocean, its vastness and its diversity, fascinates as much as it terrifies. Everywhere in the world millions of lives are connected to the ocean, first for its ressources, but also for its magic, for that freedom, that unique thrill it brings. It is that passion, almost addictive, that the movie Fishpeople is showing through portraits of men and women who dedicated their lives to the ocean.
I was lucky enough to be invited by Patagonia to the screening of Fishpeople in Biarritz and the movie is amazing! The images are breathtaking and every portrait demonstrates a bit more the positive impact of the ocean on our lives and how important it is to preserve it.
Here are the people presented in the movie :
- Lynne Cox, open-water swimmer, Long Beach, California
- Matahi Drollet, surfer and fisherman, Teahupo’o, Tahiti
- Ray Collins, photographer, Wollongong, Australia
- Kimi Werner, spearfisher, Haleiwa, Hawaii
- Eddie Donnelan, surfer and youth worker, San Francisco, California
- Dave Rastovich, surfer, Byron Bay, Australia
Those portraits show different types of relation with the ocean, from surfing to photography along with fishing, swimming or social relationships, each of them is both intense and really simple at the same time. I was particularly touched by the sequence about Kimi Werner, whom I knew already via social media, this Hawaiian mermaid grew up in the ocean and learned to spearfish to put food on the table, her knowledge of the marine environment and her ease in the water can be seen and felt even through the screen. By chance she was there for the screening and she told us some stories after the movie, especially about a crazy encounter with a huge great white shark that is shown in the movie and made the all room quake, I won’t say more in case some of you want to see the movie!
Fishpeople was directed by Keith Malloy, ex pro surfer and Patagonia ambassador, and will be available on Itunes in July ;)
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