Last Days at Sea

Venice Atienza – Director Statement

“One of my first jobs as a camera woman came in 2014. I was assigned by a non profit organisation to go to Karihatag to make videos about how the people there are able to survive devastating storms. It was then that I met Reyboy, the son of the village leader. During our breaks, Reyboy and his cousins would take all of us swimming in the river. I was struck by his ability to feel wonder towards nature in all its details. His openness and his affection for the world touched me deeply. I told him that one day, I would return and I promised myself that I would make films about the stories he shared with me. After I met Reyboy, I left on a scholarship to Europe. I returned to Karihatag three years later to keep the promise I made. I told him that I wanted to make the film about the stories of the fish in the sea. But when he told me he was leaving at the end of that summer to go to high school in the city, it became more important to spend time with him and know the life he was leaving behind. Together, we filmed his last days at home in an attempt to keep a record of all that he was going to leave behind, before it all turns into memory.

Last Days at Sea unfolds as the relation I have with Reyboy and his family deepens. There are moments of conversations between Reyboy and I that allow us to see the world as he does. There are also conversations where his family shares how the waves and the sea have changed because storms are stronger than ever and they come out of season. Through this we understand that everyday of work means risking death in the open sea. There are also scenes of silence and observation that allow us to see life in the village from a distance. This allows the film to ebb and flow between seeing the world through Reyboy’s childlike eyes, and understanding the adult world that exists around him.

In the process of knowing Reyboy and his family, I’ve understood that living in isolation, being at the frontlines of climate change, and having no access to education, shapes people’s emotional worlds. I feared that as Reyboy faces the challenges of growing up, he will lose his affection for the world. But as I got to know him more, I saw that Reyboy possesses a strength that is born out of an understanding that life has difficulty, beauty, danger, and kindness. Through the film, I hope to share what I had gained from knowing Reyboy; to see the beauty in the unnoticeable moments of growing up, and to find the courage to face the difficulties of life with kindness and tenderness.”