Rated by Ridley Scott as a “powerful and mature film”, Sea Legend was filmed in Basque country in Spain, in Mundaka, Sakoneta, Jaizkibel and the lighthouse and church at Lekeitio Gaztelugatxe, with underwater footage shot in Australia.
The film stars an elderly Basque fisherman, played by David Gant (Gandhi, Braveheart), who recounts his old memories of wonderful, large sea creatures.
Using powerful images and music by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, “Sea Legend” evokes the majestic beauty of great fish, their commercial importance and the terrible consequences of their disappearance.
“Sea Legend is a project in which we have invested a huge amount of effort, as the public urgently needs to be sensitized on the need to protect our oceans. After the premiere in San Sebastian, the film will be shown in Hamburg and New York. From the beginning of this project, Oceana has been a great partner in trying to convey the important message: Act before it’s too late. Protect what you love,” said Sergio Penzo, Environmental Activist and Creative Director for Sea Legend.
Since industrial fishing began, 90 per cent of big fish have disappeared from the oceans, according to a study published in the Nature Journal. The decline in numbers of large predators in recent decades threatens the balance of the marine food chain, resulting in the overabundance of other, smaller species.
“The changes that are occurring in the sea are happening so quickly that we run the risk of forgetting how it used to be. We are heavily fishing stocks of tuna, sharks and swordfish to the very limit in order to supply the world’s market demand, with no management or control. Big fish our disappearing from the oceans, but continue to end up on our plates,“ stated Maria Cornax, Campaign Manager for responsible fishing at Oceana in Europe.
