Descending to remarkable depths below the sea on one single breath, Alessia Zecchini enters what she describes as the last quiet place on Earth. The Italian champion is determined to set a new world record in freediving, a dangerous extreme sport in which competitors attempt to reach the greatest depth without the use of scuba gear. Freedivers are often subject to blackouts upon ascent, necessitating the help of safety divers like Stephen Keenan, a free-spirited Irish adventurer who fell in love with the sport in Dahab, Egypt. Having formed a special bond on the freediving circuit, Alessia and Stephen train together to make an attempt on Dahab’s legendary Blue Hole and its challenging 85-foot-long tunnel 184 feet below the Red Sea, their fates inextricably bound together.
Filmmaker Laura McGann deftly weaves together the parallel stories of Alessia and Stephen, capturing their preternatural diving ability and their nascent relationship against a stunning underwater backdrop. Immersed in the beauty, stillness, and peril of the deep, you’ll be holding your breath to see what happens next.
About Laura McGann
Laura McGann is a documentary filmmaker from Ireland. She started making films and producing theater when she was 15 and went on to study film in Ballyfermot, Dublin, before pursuing her master’s at Liverpool Hope University. McGann has worked in Ireland and abroad shooting and directing numerous documentary projects for RTÉ, Sky, PBS, BBC, Lonely Planet, and UTV.
