(Toronto) For Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who unveiled her first documentary at the Toronto Film Festival, the story of the Haenyo, a fishing community in South Korea, echoes her activism for girls in Pakistan.
The Last of the Sea Women (Apple TV+) tells the gripping story of the matriarchal Haenyo community, whose members support themselves by fishing off the South Korean island of Jeju, using only wetsuits, masks, fins, baskets and hooks.
But this very ancient traditional community, listed as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage site since 2016, is in danger, as many women are now 60, 70 or even 80 years old.
“I was looking for stories about women… I wanted to talk about resilience. And when Sue told me about this project, I thought, ‘This is exactly what I’m looking for,’” Malala said in an interview Monday with Korean-American filmmaker Sue Kim.
“When I look at their story, it inspires me about the possibilities and capabilities of women, their bodies, their minds,” says the 27-year-old Pakistani activist, one of the film’s producers.
“They inspired me in many ways, in their activism and in the way they cooperate with nature, in the way they built their community,” she says.
“Such audacity”
In the 1960s, 30,000 women collected everything from abalone to octopus to support their families. Today, there are only 4,000 left.
In addition to stunning underwater footage, the documentary takes the time to give them a voice: they explain their difficult work, which requires them to hold their breath underwater for two minutes.
It explores how the Haenyo are trying to revive their culture through training and social media. But also, how they are working together to prevent overfishing.
The documentary also examines the threat they say the dumping of wastewater from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean poses.
“I first met them when I was a kid, and I was struck by how confident they are, how bold they are,” says Sue Kim, who is making her feature film directorial debut.
“They are real badasses” [des femmes puissantes]. They are physically agile, skillful and strong, and they are environmental advocates and care about the next generation,” she adds.
“Creating opportune circumstances”
In 2012, young Malala Yousafzai, known for her fight against the Taliban and for women’s right to education, miraculously survived an assassination attempt as she left her school. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, at the age of 17.
She signed a deal with Apple TV+ in 2021 to produce women-focused content and started her own production company.
“Creating is part of my activism, and I believe we need to create platforms and opportunities for girls and women to show the world as they see it,” she said.
“I hope to continue working with these incredible female directors and storytellers to bring more of them to the screen.”