Twelve misfits, three handmade rafts, six months at sea. Fifty years after embarking on the most dangerous ocean crossing ever attempted, the survivors of one of maritime history’s most astonishing adventures finally tell their story. Featuring never-before-seen footage beautifully remastered in 4K, discover an epic tale of man’s profound journey into the wild heart of the natural world.

COMING SOON

STORY 

In 1973, a dozen misfits from seven countries - including a French restaurant owner with only a handful of seafood recipes, and a Chilean geologist running from the Pinochet dictatorship - embark on a seemingly impossible mission. Equipped with a 16mm film camera to document their adventures and led by the hypnotically charming Vital Aslar, an eccentric Spanish explorer who tells his crew to anticipate UFO encounters, they set out to cross the world’s largest ocean on the longest-ever-recorded raft journey, in order to prove that the South Pacific may have previously been colonized by South American mariners.

For the next six months, the rafts attempt the 9,000 mile crossing from Ecuador to Australia, with only the sun and stars to guide them. In the unforgiving vastness of the Pacific, as food dwindles and each day brings them closer to psychological breakdown, they are forced to confront their deepest selves. Just as they appear on the brink of success, the mother of all storms leaves one raft and four men missing. What led this band of outsiders to attempt such a mad endeavour? And for those who live to tell that tale, how will it change them?

FILMMAKER

Dr. Chadden Hunter is an Australian filmmaker who has spent over two decades making some of the world’s most loved and celebrated documentaries. After completing a PhD on gelada baboons in Ethiopia, Chadden worked with National Geographic and Discovery Channel, filming everything from tribal ceremonies in Africa to snow leopards in Pakistan. On the BBC series Wild Arabia Chadden pioneered stabilised filming techniques on antique wooden dhow sailing boats, and for Frozen Planet he spent three months crossing the Southern Ocean in a small yacht, dodging storms and icebergs on his way to Antarctica. His television series, including, Planet Earth 1 and 2, Seven Worlds One Planet and most recently The Platypus Guardian have won 20 Emmy and Bafta awards.

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