Sundance: Jason Momoa, Director Matthieu Rytz Unveil ‘Deep Rising’ Doc

EXCLUSIVE: Actor Jason Momoa is coming to the Sundance Film Festival, not with a narrative film but an urgent documentary.

He narrates and serves as an executive producer of Deep Rising, directed by Matthieu Rytz, a film that delves into a subject affecting nothing less than the fate of an ecosystem critical to marine and even human life.

“…[T]his up-to-the-minute tale of geopolitical, scientific, and corporate intrigue… exposes the machinations of a secretive organization empowered to greenlight massive extraction of metals from the deep seafloor that are deemed essential to the electric battery revolution,” the Sundance program writes. “Narrated by Jason Momoa, Deep Rising illuminates the vital relationship between the deep ocean and sustaining life on Earth. The documentary also follows mining startup The Metals Company, as it pursues funding, public favor, and permission from the International Seabed Authority to mine wide swaths of the Pacific Ocean floor.”

The prospect of such mining is increasingly generating headlines worldwide.

“Deep-sea mining could become a reality this year with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) aiming to come up with exploitation regulations by July,” the Australian Business Review wrote in an article published last week. “It’s a contentious new supplementary mining industry that could supply key metals for the energy transition, with cobalt, nickel and manganese found in great reserves on the sea floor in the form of polymetallic nodules.”

The film marks a return to Sundance for Rytz, who is based in Montreal and hails from Switzerland. In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Rytz is a producer, photographer, curator and trained visual anthropologist.

“Sundance is an incredible launchpad for any film – it allows massive visibility and potential deals for great distribution,” Rytz tells Deadline. “As an independent filmmaker, it’s the holy grail. I had that experience in 2018 with Antone’s Ark, my first feature documentary. After its premiere at Sundance, it had a global festival run of 18 months. Beside the general red-carpet prestige at the festival though, what matters most is that the deep ocean is currently under threat of being mined for the benefit of just a few, to help fuel a so-called green revolution. The stakes could not be higher for the oceans, and I hope that this story will reach a large audience. Having Jason Momoa here to help spread the word is amazing.”

Deep Rising is programmed in the festival’s Premieres section. It debuts Friday night at The Ray Theatre. Before the premiere, Rytz and Momoa will be coming by Deadline’s Sundance studio to discuss their film. You can look for the video of that conversation in the coming days.

In the meantime, check out the exclusive teaser trailer for the film above.