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
Shadow of a Doubt
In our latest film studies series, FRAMEWORK, Michael van den Bos explores the work of Alfred Hitchcock across four monochrome masterworks. This week: smalltown US thriller Shadow of a Doubt (1943), one of the director's personal favourites.
La Bola Negra
A big, old-school historical melodrama gets a thrillingly modern, queer makeover from Spanish duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, who artfully juggle three gay protagonists across stories set in 1932, 1937, and 2017. Winner: Best Director, Cannes. Screening on 35mm.
The History of Concrete
After attending a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies, John Wilson tries to apply all the same best practices to his documentary about concrete. Frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions ensue.
NAZA
NAZA is a codeword euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians it expects will be killed in an airstrike. This chilling documentary exposes the policy and process of state-sanctioned mass killings.
The Best Years of Our Lives
One of the finest films to come out of WWII, The Best Years of Our Lives sympathetically conveys the difficulties returning veterans faced in readjusting to life at home. It won 7 of the top Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Actor.
Ray Gunn (Special Advance Screening with Brad Bird)
In an alternate future as seen from 1939, a private eye (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star (Scarlett Johansson). Followed by a moderated discussion with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille).
