The 2023 Sundance Film Festival kicked off today and previews of features attendees can expect to see have started rolling out online. Deadline recently revealed a teaser for the documentary Deep Rising, an urgent nature documentary about the dangers of the ever-growing deep sea mining effort. Featuring Aquaman star Jason Momoa as its narrator, the short trailer sets up humanity's connection to the oceans and how that connection continues to sink deeper as we look to the ocean floor for precious minerals.
While Momoa never makes mention of the increase in deep-sea diving in his narration of the teaser, his warnings about the increased human presence among marine populations that aren't used to it are all the more effective amidst the backdrop of mining ships sending equipment deep into the ocean. Amidst the darkness deep underwater, creatures that rarely see the light of day are forced to contend with the constant rising of dirt and minerals that the mining operation kicks back up into the water as it scrapes and drills into the ocean floor. Momoa calls the collection of minerals from the ocean floor "an energy revolution," yet notes "...but are we willing to repeat history?" hinting at how we could ruin another vital ecosystem in our search for resources.
The official Sundance description of Deep Rising touts it as an up-to-date look at the secretive organization empowered to scour the ocean floor for the precious materials needed to power the electric battery revolution. A story of geopolitical, scientific, and corporate intrigue, it follows The Metals Company, an upstart organization seeking public approval, funding, and permission from the International Seabed Authority to extend its mining operations over a wide swathe of the Pacific Ocean. To directly show the dangers of this, the film also seeks to demonstrate the key role the deep ocean ecosystem plays in sustaining life on Earth and what could happen if that ecosystem were disrupted.
Momoa Lends His Voice to the Cause of the Ocean With Deep Rising
Aside from narrating, Momoa is also executive producing the documentary directed by Matthieu Rytz. This will be the second nature doc that Rytz has helmed, previously covering how climate change affected the people of the low-lying atoll of Kiribati in Anote's Ark which appeared at the 2018 edition of Sundance. Rytz's work is extensive though, as he's also worked as a photographer, producer, and he's even a trained visual anthropologist. For Momoa, this will be his second tour in the documentary space, previously executive producing Sanjay Rawal's Indigenous American documentary Gather.
Rytz returns to the festival with Momoa to ring the alarm about a cause that has been of increasing concern recently. The Australian Business Review recently wrote of the process, saying that it could become a reality this year as it aims to draw up anti-exploitation guidelines. The director was happy to be back on one of the biggest film festival stages with a big star in tow to promote his latest work. He told Deadline:
Sundance is an incredible launchpad for any film – it allows massive visibility and potential deals for great distribution. As an independent filmmaker, it’s the holy grail. I had that experience in 2018 with Anote’s Ark, my first feature documentary. After its premiere at Sundance, it had a global festival run of 18 months. Beside the general red-carpet prestige at the festival though, what matters most is that the deep ocean is currently under threat of being mined for the benefit of just a few, to help fuel a so-called green revolution. The stakes could not be higher for the oceans, and I hope that this story will reach a large audience. Having Jason Momoa here to help spread the word is amazing.
Deep Rising will make its world premiere on Friday at Sundance. Check out the trailer below.