Cinema at the Museum: We have already embarked II

A dive, the midday sunlight filtering down through the water. The air in her lungs has to last until she can dislodge the abalone from the rocks at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, and she can finally rise to breathe again. Without the help of a scuba tank or other equipment to remain underwater, the whole body is taken to the limit. Dives like these have been carried out in Japan for over 2000 years by the Ama-San, literally, the sea women, who are revered in Japanese culture, but also misunderstood. 

The Ama-San achieved the status of collectors and carers, questioning not only the role of women in oriental society but also femininity itself. This film follows three women of different ages who have dived together for 30 years in a small fishing town on the Shima peninsula. Dividing between the silent underwater world and rural life out of the water, this is a unique portrait of a tradition that is expected to die out. The average age of the women that still dive today is between 50 and 85.