Bavarian free diver Daniel Bichsel takes us to the crystal-clear waters of Marettimo, a protected Aegadian island west of Sicily. With each breath he is conscious of the eternity, silence and oneness with an undersea world that are under increasing threat. He encourages us to step lightly and reminds us that every idea, no matter how small, has the potential to make an impact!—BB

“He started out looking for freedom and ended up emotionally trapped.” That’s how Louis Bird, son of Peter Bird, first man to row solo from San Francisco to Australia—over 8,000 miles— comes to understand his father. Peter died in1986 on his fifth try to row from Vladivostok to San Francisco, and be the first person to do a Pacific double crossing. What drove him, and others who undertake such feats? Usually, films like this never answer such a question. Lost at Sea does. —SJPH

If you are in San Francisco with plans to be the first woman to row across the north Pacific, where is the best place to practice? Lia Ditton chooses a circumnavigation of the Farallon Islands 25 miles off the coast, and why not try to complete the journey in record time? —KH

The Haenyao are women free divers from Jeju Island, South Korea, who make their living collecting shellfish and seaweed. These are South Korea’s first working moms. Most of them are the sole support of their families. This matrilineal activity is passed down from mother to daughter. The Haenyao go collecting their entire livings and it is not uncommon for three generations to be in the water at the same time. —IS

In this male dominated field, Jill Heinerth does not dive into dark underwater caves of California’s Channel Islands for the adrenaline rush. She enters this rare, pristine place, the “veins of Mother Earth” to explore and map the biology and the geology of the planet’s past. —KH