On December 12 and 19, PLANÈTE+ and myCANAL will broadcast the 4 episodes of the series Tales from the Deep, directed by Kevin Sempé and Stanislas Kraland.
Diver and filmmaker specializing in underwater imagery, Kevin Sempé ventures into the depths of the seas, searching for secret relics. Guided by archaeologists and enthusiasts, he takes you back to great historical moments. Thanks to 3D technology, the relics come to life before your eyes, and you dive into the heart of sunken ancient ports, brush against hulls of ships hundreds of years old, lift pirate cannonballs… A series that tells history like never before!
12/12/22: Broadcast of the first two episodes (8:55 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.)
19/12/22: Broadcast of the final two episodes: (8:55 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.)
Episode 1 – THE TRUE STORY OF THE PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN Bayahibe, a coastal town in the Dominican Republic. Kevin Sempé, diver and filmmaker, sets out to trace the wreck of one of history’s most famous pirate ships, led by Captain Kidd. The ship was sunk in 1689 a few kilometers from the mainland at a site known for the danger of its current. Nonetheless, it’s possible to dive there to rediscover what the pirates left behind all around the island. Kevin prepares to dive into the waters where French, English, and Dutch pirates battled with cannons. He aims to uncover the lives of these sea adventurers and understand how the legend of the Pirates of the Caribbean was born.
Episode 2 – THE SHIPWRECKS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRESixty years after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean Sea. For five centuries, Rome’s power rested on its merchant marine. Thousands of trading ships crossed the waters of the Mediterranean. Every year, archaeologists discover new Roman wrecks. There are estimated to be nearly 20,000 in total. In this episode, Kevin Sempé searches for these wrecks along the Italian and French coasts, from Santo Stefano al Mare in Liguria, to the Camargue, passing through Rome and Saint-Raphaël. His goal: to understand the reasons for these numerous shipwrecks.Episode 3 – THE LAST HOURS OF SAINT-PIERREIn this episode, Kevin Sempé dives into the bay of Saint-Pierre, Martinique. At fifty-five meters deep, you can glimpse the wreck of the ship Roraima. It sank in 1902, not because it was hit by a torpedo or struck by an iceberg, but by the deadliest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. 30,000 inhabitants were wiped out by a pyroclastic surge from Mount Pelée, forming a true marine graveyard long forgotten. Kevin sets out to discover the shipwrecks destroyed in 1902, and tries to imagine the last moments of their crews.
Episode 4 – USS MONITOR, THE IRONCLAD BATTLENorth Carolina, East Coast of the United States. Here, in 1862, sank theUSS Monitor an American warship built during the deadliest conflict in United States history, the Civil War. Its wreck is difficult to reach, located twenty-five kilometers off the coast, deep in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean. To find the wreck of this ironclad and understand why it sank, Kevin Sempé will dive more than eighty meters into waters crossed by one of the most powerful currents on earth.
4-episode documentary series of 52 minutes each
Directed by Kevin Sempé and Stanislas Kraland
Produced by Imagissime (a Mediawan company)