The Raftsmen

FEATURE DOC

Director / Producer
Chadden Hunter

Writer / Editor
Chris Bamford

Producer

William Ward

Executive Producers
Bettina Dalton p.g.a.  
Anna Godas  
Oli Harbottle

Dir. of Photography
Dale Cochrane

Composer
Finn Clarke


The Raftsmen

FEATURE DOC

Twelve adventure-mad misfits set out to cross the world’s largest ocean... on three log rafts. Fifty years on, revisit this perilous and historic journey, beset by storms, sharks, and frayed nerves.

In 1973, 12 men gathered in Ecuador at the start of a seemingly impossible mission. At the helm was Captain Vital Aslar, a prophet-like leader with a Salvador Dali-inspired dream to cross the South Pacific – roughly 14,500 kilometres, non-stop. The largely inexperienced crew began by building their own vessels from trees they’d felled. Then they headed out into the blue: navigating by the sun and stars, they encounter myriad creatures, tempests and doldrums as they make their way from Ecuador towards Australia. Award-winning documentarian Chadden Hunter blends original 16mm footage with stories from the surviving rafters, vividly conjuring a dreamlike adventure in which each voyager is pushed to their limits.