Freediving is arguably the most distinctive extreme sport in the world. Like other extreme sports, it is insanely dangerous and demands complete control of one’s mind. Diving without gear or an oxygen tank into the silent depths is not a quick adrenaline-fueled ride. Instead, the purest form of diving is about holding your breath and mastering your nerves. The Deepest Breath is a documentary that aims to bring that experience to Sundance Festival 2023 visitors.

Diving into the depths without any safety gear except a single diving rope leading to the surface is similar to free soloing a rockface. A single lapse in concentration could result in certain death. The Deepest Breath makes its audience aware of what’s at stake as it follows an Italian champion on her freediving journey.

Freediving into the blue hole

The Deepest Breath opens as Alessia Zecchini answers a question about fearing for her life. The record-setting champion says she doesn’t think about death, nor is she afraid of it. The film then follows Zecchini into the water, ready to dive into a Dean’s Blue Hole. The footage was filmed during the annual Vertical Blue competition held in the Bahamas at Dean’s Blue Hole.

After a deep breath, Zecchini dives under the water and makes her descent. While she wears no gear, her safety diver and training partner Stephen Keenan trails the champion as she descends into the depths of the blue hole. Filmmaker Laura McGann captures the dive on camera and simulates the tense silence with a slowing heartbeat as Zecchini descends. Zecchini calls the depths “The last quiet place on Earth.”

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However, the tension shifts to panic as Zecchini is forced to make a hasty ascent. After she breaks the surface, Keenan breathes into her mouth as the frame freezes. The rest of the documentary follows the lives of the two divers before their eventual meeting and the Italian champion’s record-breaking attempt. Like Free Solo chronicled Alex Honnold’s historic solo climb, The Deepest Breath focuses on the athlete.

Danger lurks close to the surface

The risks involved in freediving are numerous. However, divers often face the most danger near the end of a dive. Freedivers have to stay alert until the end of it. Naturally, diving to such insane depths puts pressure on the lungs. If a freediver ascends too fast, the water pressure can cause them to blackout.

Blackouts can also happen at any stage of the dive. Freedivers are also at risk of shallow water, surface, deep water, constant depth, and pressure blackouts.

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Do you plan to watch the documentary at Sundance 2023? Let us know your thoughts on freediving in the comments.