Chris Bertish Documentary Launches Today

PADDLE AND A PRAYER: The gruelling journey took 93 days and covered 7,200km Photo Supplied

Last Known Coordinates shows remarkable first person footage that Chris Bertish shot during the crossing, where he faced raging storms, numerous failing navigational systems, water shortages, injury, while dodging super tankers and close encounters with sharks.

This is not to mention the incredible strain of complete isolation for more than three months living on and in the equivalent of a floating couch. It’s a film that redefines the limits of human endurance.

It was also a test of human endurance for producer and co-director Chris Mason, who had to navigate the Covid lockdown while trying to communicate with a team of producers and writers in disparate locations, as well as other numerous challenges to get the film edited and out to the world.

SUNSET SOLO: Being alone for three months is quite a psychological challenge. Photo Supplied

SPIKE: Chris, why did the film take so long?
CHRIS: Documentary filmmaking is inherently a long process, but a global pandemic certainly doesn't help. At first it took us a fair amount of time to get through the primary material and figure out how to use it. Bertish had shot hundreds of hours on his GoPros of him paddling and living on the water. Some of it was very compelling but most of it was in a similar frame - wide angle shots mounted on the deck of his vessel or in the cabin. Our challenge was finding out how to tell the story of his crossing while keeping the viewing As COVID-19 disrupted the entire documentary sales ecosystem, with films that were supposed to screen at top tier fests flooding the market and buyers becoming increasingly cautious in the face of uncertaintyinteresting and minimising viewer 'GoPro' fatigue. Once we had cut the journey together, lining up all the exciting events that he caught on camera and the important through-lines of the Captain's Logs, we had a basis from which to move.

Next we went about interviewing all Bertish's friends and family and piecing together their side of the story. What we got there was an interesting counterpoint of opinion that we used a lot in the first act of the film, to set his character up. We went through several different cuts to try and get the right tone, and worked with an American filmmaker Joe Piscatella (winner of the Sundance Audience Award in 2016 for his film Joshua), who co-wrote and directed the film with Luke (brother of Chris and partner in the Mason Brothers film company) and myself. The film took us three years to make as a 90min feature, after which we went out and secured a sales agent who could take it to market, which finally happened in 2020, just as COVID-19 hit the world. That was a real blow for us, as COVID-19 disrupted the entire documentary sales ecosystem, with films that were supposed to screen at top tier fests flooding the market and buyers becoming increasingly cautious in the face of uncertainty.

After a bleak year in this landscape we decided to re-cut the film to make it more accessible to the TV market, and we created a 56min cut down version of the feature film. It's actually my favorite version of the film and it's the cut we're launching globally today, 17 August, almost five years since we started!

THIS IS THE END: After a monumental feat, monumental relief is quite feasible. Photo Supplied

What were the challenges you faced?
The biggest challenge was one which most documentary filmmakers will attest to: getting funding. We've done this on the proverbial shoe-string, using our own gear and investing our own time and money to make it happen. We did get generous support from the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), for which we're very grateful, and some private funding. As a filmmaker who has made a bunch of films for international broadcast and studios etc, I can tell you that making an independent documentary is a singular challenge.

How was it working with Chris Bertish?
Chris Bertish is a different animal. He's not like you or I. That's what makes him capable of doing something like crossing an ocean on a SUP craft. The man took an incredible beating out there. He was often dehydrated, lacking nourishment and sleep and having to stay alert because of life-threatening dangers. It takes a certain kind of person to want to go through that kind of punishment, and obviously that can be hard to work with. But our job as filmmakers is to look for what is special in a story and a character and try to make those things resonate with an audience.

Does it fulful your original conceptualization of the story?
To a degree. We tried our best to get to the core of the story as we saw it, but creative vision is subjective and in a filmmaking team where you have multiple directors and producers, it's never a simple process. We wanted to tell a story that delved into the questions of why Chris Bertish attempted the crossing, and at what cost. Secondarily we wanted to tell a story that showed how one man, against the odds, can achieve something that we all (honestly) thought to be impossible. Despite it's tendency towards cliché, it's an important message and we were certainly inspired by his achievement back in 2017 after he made it. That's one of the main reasons we agreed to do the film.

What do you like about the movie from a narrative and technical perspective?
It's not typically documentary in style, or at least the second act isn't. We worked hard to put the viewer 'onto the rails' of the story first, to then lead them onto the water. Once there, they experience the subtle but visible transformation of Chris Bertish into a character we called 'Captain Crabstick' Joe Piscatella has been massive in the hard work of grinding this out. Even though we've never met him in person we must have spent hundreds of hours talking on whatsapp and zoom.(Bertish would refer to himself as this in the footage). On the water, in the face of this massive journey, Bertish found his own flow and became, for a time, almost like an enlightened being. He was totally different to the way he was at land, going with the flow of the ocean and thriving in these incredibly volatile conditions. It is truly something to behold, and quite compelling.

How was it working with so many people scattered around the globe?
Right now our team spans four countries on three continents, from the US to Europe and South Africa. With this set up, it's safe to say we didn't see much of each other in person. But we've had a good team on this. Exec Producer Bruce Macdonald has really helped facilitate the confluence of visions from us creatives and Bertish, and Joe Piscatella has been massive in the hard work of grinding this out. Even though we've never met him in person we must have spent hundreds of hours talking on whatsapp and zoom. Technology has given us the resources to make films in this way. Viewing and editing platforms are incredibly advanced these days and post-production companies, like ours, The Refinery, are well-versed in digital work. I facilitated delivery of the film to our first buyer from Greece, while the wonderful team at Refinery Post did a seamless delivery on big servers with crazy uploading capacity. Now more than ever, it's possible to work creatively from just about anywhere with wifi.

What is your favourite part of the film?
There is a moment midway through his journey when Bertish is fully in the zone and has become a kind of aquatic monk. He's holding onto the rudder of his vessel as it is pulled along by the current, and he just glides there underwater in this crystal blue, with little pilot fish swimming around him. It's a mystical moment.

How are you feeling about its global release?
We're genuinely excited for this film to get out there. I know there are a lot of people in SA that were wondering what happened to it, and many of Bertish's fans have been waiting patiently. The fact that we can do a global release is amazing, and I think anybody who watched Bertish's crossing of the Atlantic on social media or in the news will be truly interested in the film.

Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lastknowncoordinatesfilm
Instagram: @lastknowncoordinatesfilm
Twitter: @LKCfilm
Web: lastknowncoordinates.com

ITUNES PRE-ORDER LINK- https://bit.ly/LastKnownCoordinates
VIMEO ON DEMAND LINK- https://vimeo.com/ondemand/lastknowncoordinates

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