To let you experience the Galathea underwater image festival from home, throughout the weekend, watch 12 films for free among those presented in competition this year.
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Breathtaking – Mathias Lopez – 52 minutes
Frenchman Stéphane Tourreau is the world runner-up in constant weight freediving, a demanding discipline that involves descending as deep as possible using only his muscles. His passion: discovering the most beautiful diving sites on the planet. Always in search of unique and introspective sensations, Stéphane Tourreau decided to explore the island of Mayotte, a jewel of the Indian Ocean. In this diver’s paradise, he set himself a significant sporting goal: exploring without tanks at a depth of 70m, one of the most prestigious underwater spots of the volcanic island—a chance to discover this archipelago in a new way.
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The Sperm Whale Clan – Stéphane Granzotto – 52 minutes
Hunted almost to extinction, sperm whales have always been studied from afar from the decks of boats. For the first time, a team of scientific divers immerses themselves in the daily life of a cetacean clan off the coast of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Thanks to a specially designed recorder, they uncover a specific « dialect » of the group. Witnesses to intimate moments of life, from exchanges between a mother and her newborn to the relationship between the latter and its « nanny, » they also uncover the secret of the complex relationships woven within the clan, an astonishing matriarchal society.
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An Oasis of Life – Caroline Espla – 52 minutes
The underwater rocks in the Mediterranean are the cradle of incredible life. Between Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes and Saint-Raphaël in the Var, the continental shelf is very short and plunges into the abyss just a few miles from the coast. The influx of nutrients and plankton from these great depths feeds life toward the coastal reefs. And it is on the often isolated rocks that this food supply settles. The rocks develop this wealth by becoming a haven of life for hundreds of species, sometimes hidden in holes or camouflaging in crevices, up to the super-predators swimming above and watching the prey born from these rocks… A perfect lifecycle where the emblematic species of the Mediterranean meet.
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Wreck Stories in South Brittany – Jacques Lelay – 40 minutes
The waters of Southern Brittany harbor treasures: hundreds of shipwrecks, as many pieces of an open-air maritime museum. All possess their stories and parts of mysteries… All will one day disappear, eroded by salt and currents… This film tells us the unique fate of 7 mythical shipwrecks: the Thracia, the Pontoporos, the Guido Möhring, the German submarine U171, the Philomèle, the Cigale and the ancient ship Galathée . A dive into French history, with unprecedented images and testimonies, discovering an extraordinary and ephemeral heritage…. Une plongée dans l’Histoire française, des images et des témoignages inédits, à la découverte d’un patrimoine extraordinaire et éphémère…
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Wild Wallonia – Jean Christophe Grignard – 52 minutes
Journey to the heart of a wild territory, it is a true invitation to discover an exceptional natural heritage with multiple facets. But at a time when climate change is at the forefront of the news, this biodiversity is threatened…wild, it is a true invitation to the discovery of an exceptional natural heritage with multiple facets. But at a time when climate change is central to the news, this biodiversity is threatened…It is important to show that all hope is not lost and that many men and women work every day to restore and preserve this indispensable nature.
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The Blue Quest – Clément Pourtal – 38 minutes
The Blue Quest meets marine protection projects around the world to highlight their actions and the people who work there. This time it’s in a place globally known for its abundance of marine life: Baja California.
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The Cannons of the Banana Ship – François Brun and Albert Ghizzo – 46 minutes
It is the story of theAlice Robert, a banana ship built in 1934 for banana transport. Requisitioned in 1942 by the Germans, it was transformed into a Kriegsmarine escort. Based in Port-Vendres in 1944, it was torpedoed by the British submarine Ultor and has since become an emblematic wreck of the French Mediterranean coast.
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The Caribbean – The Predators (in English) – Florian Guthknecht – 52 minutes
The turquoise waters of the Caribbean harbor a varied ecosystem. Multicolored fish mingle with formidable predators and magnificent corals. But the imprint left by humans increasingly disrupts this fragile balance.
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Guillaume Néry, the Breath of the Ocean – Stéphane Jacques – 52 minutes
Renowned French freediver Guillaume Néry performs breathtaking dives. He has turned freediving into an art, an aquatic dance that leads him to meet the species inhabiting the seas and oceans. Guillaume uses his discipline to fight for what he believes: a vision of man in harmony with nature. In Moorea, where he lives, we will meet those fighting to preserve turtles, whales, the coastline, and corals. Moorea is indeed emblematic of what is happening everywhere: coral barriers are dying. A quarter of the reefs have suffered irreversible damage, and two-thirds are seriously threatened. Through these encounters and exceptional underwater imagery, the ambition of this film is for it to be as beautiful, strong, as it is useful.
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Swim with Dolphins – Olivier Vanbremeersch – 26 minutes
Women undergoing cancer treatment take a trip to meet dolphins, to facilitate their healing process. For most, water was not their preferred environment, but all dreamed of swimming with dolphins. They prepared for this journey for a year to raise funds. They also overcame their apprehensions by participating in freediving introductions in a pool, supervised by Pierre Vigouroux and his team from Génération Grand Bleu (AIDA) to prepare for a wonderful journey and make this dream a reality. The various activities on the boat and the outings at sea contribute to enriching their experience. Heading to Egypt, to meet the dolphins at the Sataya Lagoon!
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The City of Dark Groupers – Rémi Demarthon – 26 minutes
Under the tawny sea, where nature invented its first face, where the echo of our world’s first voice resonated, explore the sensory and emotional universe of our scaled cousins. Dive into this scientific tale to discover what it means to be a fish.
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Shark Wave – Patrick Metzle – 24 minutes
In Egypt, on the shores of the Red Sea, director Jan Kounen (Doberman, Blueberry, 99 francs, My Cousin…) joined shark behavior specialist Steven Surina. From Elphinstone to the Brothers Islands, Steven takes Jan to discover the carcharhinus Longimanus or oceanic whitetip shark. By diving with this fascinating animal, Jan realizes the importance of sharks in their ecosystem and the necessity of changing their image to better protect them.
