Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World

The vessel is Infinity, a 120-foot hand-built sailing ketch, crewed by a community of wanderers. The journey: an 8,000-mile Pacific Ocean crossing from New Zealand to Patagonia with a stop in Antarctica, weather permitting. Along the way the crew will battle a hurricane of ice in the Ross Sea, assist the radical environmental group Sea Shepherd, and tear every sail they have. Sea Gypsies brilliantly reels us in to share the perspective of a group of likable nomads living a fragile alternative existence drifting atop the largest of the planet's few remaining global commons. Like the director, we are witness to the voyage, following the crew on their daily routine from charting their course down to the tiny but crucial details of maintaining the boat. (Napa Valley Film Festival)