Jem Cresswell’s Eyre & Sea is a love project for the commercial photographer, director, underwater specialist – and passionate observer of the natural world. A short documentary that is wowing reviewers and winning official selection at film festivals throughout the world. It has also been selected for the Ocean Film Festival World Tour 2022.
This is the sixth commendation Cresswell has received for the film. It has also been included in the official selections of the San Diego International Film Festival, Toronto Independent Film Festival, Paris Short Film Festival, Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay and Music Festival and Nature Without Borders International Film Festival. The film is not Cresswell’s story, but it could be. Through the voice of a tour operator and his relationship with a colony of sea lions it asks humans to care better for the planet they live in.
“I spent most of my youth surfing, diving, and camping with friends, exploring Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. There was a sense of escape and freedom and it gave birth to a love for the ocean.” Cresswell stated. It was here that he developed his skills as a photographer and director. “It was only natural that the two would combine,” he added.
In Eyre & Sea, the main characters include the curious and playful members of an endangered sea lion family and a human who lives in a remote part of Australia on the edge of the Great Australian Bight, in a town with a population of three. The bit players are the tourists who join Alan Payne’s tours. For most of them, spending time with dolphins and sea lions is something to do. For Payne, it’s a relationship. It’s friendship. The backdrop is the coastline of Eyre Peninsula, powerful, rugged and dramatically beautiful. All of this is woven into film whose ultimate message is that the Australian sea lion is in need and we should do something about it. “We’re all in this together, the whole lot of us, the wildlife. We’re wildlife as well,” Payne concludes. “You need to make space, you need to care, you need to look after your neighbour…It’s not all about taking.”
“It’s the honesty Jem has captured in Eyre & Sea that draws you in. The film opens the door wide, not just to Alan Payne’s world but also his heart. His bond with nature becomes your bond and you respond to the message. It’s a powerful asset for a storyteller to have,” added Flipp founder, Joclyn McCahon.
The film follows world recognition for Cresswell’s hard cover book, Giants, a long-term project which features portraits of the Southern Hemisphere Humpback and was published last year. The concept for Giants came from Cresswell’s study of whales’ complex emotional behaviours and intricate social structures. The book captures their expressive emotions and individual personalities. It also led to the idea behind Eyre & Sea.
Cresswell’s love for capturing the world around him, and his flair for using nature as a stage where human emotions can be spotlit, have won work for brands that range from American Express and Qantas to Microsoft; from Huawei and Optus to Jurlique; from Carnival Cruises and P&O Cruises to Australian Super; from Destination NSW and South Australia Tourism to Lindt.
View Jem Cresswell’s portfolio here.
Credits:
Director & Cinematographer: Jem Cresswell
2nd Camera Operator: Ewan Donnachie
Editor: Christopher Baron @ The Hive Films
Colourist: Tim Wreyford
Post-Production Sound Service: Rumble Studios
Composers: Adam Moses & Jeremy Richmond
Sound Designer: Liam Annert
Sound & Music Executive Producer: Michael Gie
Find screening times at www.eyreandsea.com
