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In a small coastal village in the Ise Peninsula, three women continue the ancient tradition of the Ama, free divers who rely only on their lungs to harvest the sea. The film follows Mayumi, Masumi and Matsumi through their daily work, portraying a way of life that is both intimate and at risk of disappearing. Their strength, independence and sisterhood reveal a rare space of female autonomy in Japan.
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Melhor Filme da Competição Portuguesa Prémio Ingreme Doclisboa
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Women who dive into the sea and surface with their own freedom
Set in the fishing village of Wagu, Ama San focuses on the lives of Mayumi, Masumi and Matsumi, three women who continue a tradition that has existed in Japan for more than two thousand years. The Ama are free divers who enter the Pacific Ocean without air tanks or specialised equipment, relying only on the air in their lungs to collect shellfish and abalone from the seabed. Their work begins every spring when the cherry trees bloom and the sea season opens. Around fifty women dive daily in Wagu and among them are the seven Amas who sail each morning on the small blue boat Minemaru. The film accompanies three of these women, each representing a different generation, revealing how their experience in the water varies according to age and rhythm.
Through their daily gestures the film opens a window onto a profession that is slowly disappearing and onto the intimate lives that anchor these women to land. The camera becomes part of their routine and observes them with a calm and attentive presence. This allows a deeper understanding of their motivations, fears, love for their families and thoughts about the future. Beyond its ethnographic interest, the film develops with a strong visual sensitivity and a narrative structure that approaches the realm of fiction. It shows the power and independence that the Ama carved for themselves within a traditionally patriarchal society and contemplates the strength of a body facing the challenges of life, both at sea and on land.
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