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Dolphin Man

Dolphin Man tells the story of the legendary Frenchman who became the inspiration for Luc Besson’s The Big Blue. Obsessed with the ocean his whole life, Mayol’s personal exploration led to shattered records and advances in deep diving through a unique and compelling belief that man and dolphin share an aquatic ancestry.

Jacques’ remarkable life story began in Shanghai and moved to Japan, Europe and wherever the famous free spirit wished to travel. Dolphin Man interviews subjects whose lives he has touched from Asia to North America and India, uncovering places of extreme beauty to explore how Jacques developed his groundbreaking physical practices of relaxation and yoga through Asian philosophies.

This is the story of a man who risked his life to break records for fame, but later transformed into a messenger who, through reaching the limits of the human body and mind, strived to deepen the bond between human beings and nature.

  • Lefteris Charitos
    Director
    Director
  • Rea Apostolides
    Producer
  • Yuri Averof
    Producer
  • Ed Barreveld
    Producer
  • Estelle Robin
    Producer
  • Seiko Kato
    Executive Producers
  • Marco Alessi
    Executive Producers
  • Marta Zaccaron
    Executive Producers
  • Jean-Marc Barr
    Narrator
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 19 minutes
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Distribution Information
  • IMPLEO Inc.
    Country: China
    Country: Hong Kong
    Country: Macao
    Country: Taiwan
    Country: Korea, Republic of
    Country: Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
    Country: Mongolia
    Country: Indonesia
    Country: Singapore
    Country: Thailand
    Country: Philippines
    Country: Malaysia
    Country: Brunei Darussalam
    Country: Viet Nam
    Country: Cambodia
    Country: Myanmar
    Country: Lao People's Democratic Republic
    Country: Timor-Leste
Director Biography - Lefteris Charitos

Charitos studied film at Royal College of Arts in London. He has directed several fiction and non-fiction series for Greek television, including the highly acclaimed history documentary series 1821 and Τhe Journey of Food, as well as the fiction crime series Zone Defence, co-directed with Filippos Tsitos. Dolphin Man is his first feature length documentary. Parallel to directing he has been the Digital Film Production Coordinator at the SAE Creative Media College in Athens.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Dolphin Man is the story of a charismatic man who divided his life between land and
water, bringing consciousness about our affinity with the sea.
An athlete, philosopher and adventurer, Jacques Mayol traveled across the world,
winning over fans by promoting a vision our need to reconnect with nature.
The film deals with essential issues of human existence. Death, the body’s limits, our
return to mother-nature, the traps of personal ambition and fame, the balance of
body and soul through meditation: these are the dominant themes of Mayol’s life
which drive the films narrative.
Dolphin Man engages the viewer through the senses and emotions. For Mayol, each
dive was an attempt to align mind and body. We share this experience, plunging to
great depths, where all is black, motionless, frightening but also peaceful, and we
return to the dazzling light of the surface. This sensory journey is achieved through
contemporary underwater filming of the world’s best divers, while we discover what
happens to the human body and mind at great depth.
In parallel to the places of extreme beauty which marked Mayol throughout his life -
like the Bahamas, the island of Elba in Italy, the coast of Tateyama in Japan, or the
Aegean islands in Greece- we also discover the unique texture of rare 16mm films
shot by pioneering post-war cinematographers, recording Mayol’s story and bringing
to life his adventure.