
Who owns the depths of the ocean? Can we power our green future efficiently and responsibly? Exploring the luminous ecosystems deep in the Pacific Ocean alongside the countries and companies that hope to gain access to the lucrative deposits of precious metals lining the ocean floor kilometers beneath the surface, Deep Rising intertwines these questions, wondering if we’re simply going to repeat history, or find a new future without exploitation. As scientists learn more about deep sea nodules– ore deposits resting on the ocean bed which contain enough rare metals such as manganese, cobalt, and nickel to potentially power the next wave of the “green revolution” and electric vehicles –industrialized nations and corporations are scrambling for to harvest them. Alongside beautiful footage of translucent jellyfish and denizens of the deep ocean, far more strange and wondrous than anything from the latest Avatar film, Director Mathieu Rytz asks if we are capable of gathering these deep sea nodules without disturbing the ecosystems that make up more than 95% of earth’s biosphere.
Visually this is a winner.
Screen International
Series Media Partner
Jason Momoa
USA
2023
Insights
In English and Spanish with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Jason Momoa, Addison Fischer, Olivia Fischer, Sébastien Lépinard, Julie Lépinard
Producer
Matthieu Rytz, Jason Momoa
Screenwriter
Matthieu Rytz, Helen Scales
Cinematography
Matthieu Rytz William Mackenzie Diego Pequeño Spencer Peter Wangare
ANIM
Félix Pharand-Deschênes
Editor
Elisa Borora, Ace
Original Music
Ólafur Arnalds
Director

Matthieu Rytz
Matthieu Rytz is a producer, curator, photographer and award-winning film director. A visual anthropologist by training, his passion for storytelling has led him across the globe to witness and document complex human and environmental stories. Matthieu specializes in creating multidisciplinary, multichannel projects using film, still images and virtual reality; using whatever medium best serves the story.
Filmography: Anote’s Ark (2018)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a heartwarming film for all ages. Marcel, a tiny shell, lives with his grandmother Connie in a human house. When a filmmaker discovers Marcel, they team up to search for his long-lost relatives. Rated: G
Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again
In the face of environmental destruction, two Nations fight to restore their river and a way of life.
Fairy Creek
Considered the largest act of civil disobedience in Canadian history, the Fairy Creek blockade led to more than 1200 arrests. What Jen Muranetz's film gives us is the story from the front line from the activists' point of view (often, from the treetops).