SAILING A SINKING SEA is a feature-length experimental documentary exploring the culture of the Moken people of Burma and Thailand. The Moken are a seafaring community and one of the smallest ethnic minority groups in Asia, traditionally spending eight months out of the year in thatch-roofed wooden boats. Wholly reliant upon the sea, their entire belief system revolves around water. SAILING A SINKING SEA weaves a visual and aural tapestry of Moken mythologies and present-day practices. As a viewer, you will swim under the sea, past fishes and mermaids, sail boats across turquoise waters, land on 13 different islands, step inside sea shanties on stilts, delve into the minds of shamans, become possessed through the worship of sea gods, dance between lovers and emerge drenched in Moken mythology.
SAILING A SINKING SEA premiered at SXSW in 2015 and went on to play Hot Docs, BFI London, Margaret Mead (in the American Museum of Natural History, and recently won the Audience Choice Award at the Singapore International Film Festival.
Olivia Wyatt is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer based in Los Angeles. She is a member of the Sublime Frequencies film and music collective. She has directed, produced, shot and edited three feature-length documentaries, STARING INTO THE SUN (2011), THE PIERCED HEART & THE MACHETE (2013), and SAILING A SINKING SEA
(2015). She also has a series of shorts out alongside a vinyl LP by Bitchin Bajas called Vibraquatic (2012) and was one of the creators of the film BELOW THE BRAIN (2011). Her work has screened at SXSW, Hot Docs, Maysles Cinema, Flaherty NYC at Tribeca 92Y, Anthology Film Archives, BAM, Third Man Records, All Tomorrow's Parties, The Milano Film Festival, The Barbican Museum, and The Museum of Jurassic Technology. She has also produced content for National Geographic, VICE, SPIN, Slate, Magnum Photos, and XLR8R. Her work has been highlighted by the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, BBC, Indie Wire, Bomb Magazine, and VICE.