Everyday Activist - Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World (BMBFF 2016)

Posted on Thursday, December 22, 2016 at 08:00 PM

Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World (BMBFF 2016)

Movie Review by Everyday Activist X CalgaryMovies.com

If the title sounds familiar I briefly wrote about Sea Gypsies run in with Sea Shepherd in my review of The Archipelago, “where Sea Shepherd makes an impressive appearance with their fully staffed boat and able to donate gallons of fuel to another boat who helped them with the Japanese whalers near Antarctica.” For the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2016/17, the movie is edited down to about half of its original length. I have no idea what they could cut out, having watched it in its entirety with the filmmaker, Nico Edwards in attendance.

For all the budget issues the film and sailing crew had, Nico is a great storyteller. He had a lot of help from his colorful crew mates, including a Canadian electrician, David Bowie. The boat, Infinity, was plagued with a number of technical issues heightening the drama of life aboard a vessel, built in the 1970s. You’re on the edge of your seat throughout the film, wondering what’s wrong with those people. Why would you go into one of the earth’s harshest environments on a ship that really shouldn’t be there? To its credit, the film was WAY better than the awful Antarctic Edge: 70° South, which I’m sure, had a better boat and bigger budget.

Despite the harsh winds and ice, the crew had a great adventure, full of laughs and fun. While the situations were serious, everyone had a great attitude knowing what he had signed up for. I enjoyed that it really was “life unscripted”. Whatever challenges came up, everyone worked together in good spirits to figure it out, using his particular skillset. Usually Captain Clemens sails with his family, but for this trip I was glad that he left his kiddies and wife on land. He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with, meant for a life at sea.

If you would like to join the motely crew of Infinity to have your own movie worthy adventure, next July they will be sailing, much closer to home in the Northwest Passage. From the film and Nico’s comments, the crew requirements aren’t too stringent. Hopefully, with the exposure of the World Tour, they will be able to attract some more $$$ to create an even more epic film, where Sea Shepherd doesn’t have to bail them out unknowingly. Information is available on their website http://www.seagypsiesmovie.com/.

However, if you’re more like me, an arm chair sailor, Sea Gypsies will play at the Rosza Center at the University of Calgary as part of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2016/17 #1 & #2 at the end of January.  

Calgary Showtimes: Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World >