NASA conquered space. These lunatics tried to live at the bottom of the ocean.
The Sealab project, launched in 1969 off the shore of northern California, was the brainchild of a country doctor turned naval pioneer who dreamed of pushing the limits of ocean exploration like NASA did space exploration. The massive, 300-ton tubular structure was a pressurized underwater habitat, complete with science labs and living quarters for divers who would live and work there on the ocean floor for days or even months at a time. During the height of the Space Race, this daring program also tested the limits of human endurance and revolutionized the way humans explore the ocean.
Direction
Ives crafts nail-biting tension from archival footage and wobbly 16mm.
Production
Gorgeous restoration of forgotten footage that sat in Navy vaults for decades.
Director
Stephen Ives
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
George Bond's son actually became an astronaut, making the family literally the only one to reach both space AND the deep ocean.
Sealab directly inspired James Cameron's The Abyss and his actual deep-sea filmmaking — without this forgotten doc, no Titanic expedition footage.
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