Hallucinations without drugs:
Deep water freediving exposes its practitioners to a form of narcosis, which induces several symptoms, among which a feeling of euphoria and levity that earned this phenomenon its nickname of “raptures of the deep”. The short film relates the interior journey of Guillaume Néry, the apnea world champion, during one of his deep water dives. It draws its inspiration from his physical experience and the narrative of his hallucinations.
Also without much CGI trickery since most of the shots in Julie Gaultier’s film have been filmed underwater by actor-divers. Guillaume Néry reenacts a dive without oxygen tank to a depth of 125 metres. The effect is a little like Altered States crammed into 10 minutes, albeit without Ken Russell’s religious preoccupations.
