From the Wild Sea

“When the glacial terminus broke, it marked the beginning of one of many waves.”

Storms unleash along Europe’s coastlines, taking their toll. Volunteers are preparing for winter. Injured seal pups are nurtured with liquid food and warmed with infra-red lamps. Oil-soiled swans are subjected to foam baths. One stares into the eye of a giant stranded whale. And the whale looks back. In poetic images, Robin Petré traces the gaze between humans and wild animals, narrates the close interweaving of habitats and closes the cycle from perpetrator to helper. Laying bare the ambivalent relationship between society and threatened eco-systems, the haunting imagery patiently and respectfully opens a space for deep reflection. A relentless gaze into the abyss of the Anthropocene.
by Robin Petré
with Dan Jarvis, James Barnett, Sydney Rachael Stone, Sam Brittain
Denmark 2021 English, Dutch 78’ Colour Documentary form recommendation: 14 years and up

Part of the Berlinale Summer Special

With

  • Dan Jarvis
  • James Barnett
  • Sydney Rachael Stone
  • Sam Brittain

Crew

Director Robin Petré
Cinematography María Grazia Goya, Robin Petré
Editing Charlotte Munch Bengtsen
Music Ismaël Colombani
Sound Design Thomas Pape
Sound Robin Petré
Casting Robin Petré
Production Manager Signe Skov Thomsen
Producer Malene Flindt Pedersen

Robin Petré

Born in Mols, Denmark in 1985, she first studied journalism at the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Aarhus and then documentary film directing in the Doc Nomads programme at universities in Portugal, Hungary and Belgium. Her films, which focus on the coexistence of humans with animals and nature, have screened at numerous international festivals and won a number of awards. She is an alumna of the Nordic Film Lab and the IDFAcademy. From the Wild Sea is her debut feature-length documentary.

Filmography

2016 Pulse; short documentary 2017 Stream; short documentary 2020 WILDLIFE • 2030; video art installation 2021 From the Wild Sea; documentary

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2021