Mads St. Clair, storyteller in residence for Oceanographic Magazine, recently posted a short film about the Wawata Topu, a community of women who freedive, spearfish and provide for their families from the sea.
Set in the remote village of Adara, Timor-Leste, this piece shares the voice of Augustina of the Wawata Topu.
According to an Instagram post by St. Clair:
“Though my main assignment was to shoot a photo story (out now in Oceanographic Mag Issue 42), the more time I spent with these women, the more I felt that still images alone couldn’t capture their voices and the way they move through the water. So I started filming, because I thought this story deserved to be heard as much as seen.”
The short film was shot “over a week of strong currents, overheating cameras, tangled translations and a lot of laughter,” she writes.
This story is about much more than women fishing, according to St. Clair:
“It’s about strength, intergenerational knowledge and the connection between women who quietly became providers.”
Check out the video below.
