Byron Filmmaker Sends Ocean Relief Amid Pandemic
Image by Elliot Kirkwood Photography
The Saltwater Healing You Need Right Now
I wanted to offer something to all those people confined to lockdown, especially in urban settings with minimal access to nature and allow people to pause and briefly take their mind away from all their worries.
A stunning ocean video portrait by acclaimed Byron Bay filmmaker Darius Devas released online today in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Ocean Medicine
Ocean Medicine combines two of Byron Bay filmmaker Darius Devas’s passions: filming the ocean and mental health.
Devas has been exploring high speed ultra slow motion camera technology in the ocean for more than a decade, to capture incredible imagery of the waves and water in fine detail. His experimental oceanic short film Within was narrated by Guy Pierce and exhibited at National Gallery of Victoria in 2014.
Last year, Devas released a mental health documentary series called The Common Thread, in which young people from around Australia opened up about their mental health and shared the tools and tactics that supported them. The series received over one million views online and screened on ABC Compass.
The project was inspired by Devas’ response to the COVID-19 crisis and the national lockdown that followed.
Like many others working in the Film and TV industry all my work was cancelled. I found myself obsessively reading newspaper articles about every new development of this horrible virus and it was driving my anxiety through the roof.
Luckily for me I have access to the ocean to calm my nerves. I started thinking how grateful I am for where I live during this time. I thought I’d love to share some of my experience of the ocean with those who don't have access to it, or any nature for that matter.
Devas drew on his extensive archive of ocean imagery to create a mesmerising experience of oceanic landscapes, combined with a calming sound design by Walker Lee.
Watch more of Darius Devas’ films at Being Here.
Filmed Directed Edited & Produced by Darius Devas
Co-Produced by Will Harvey Jones
Sound Design & Score by Walker Lee
Poster Image by Elliot Kirkwood
Special Thanks to David Elliot Jones, Steve Nossiter and Steve Bond