Last Days at Sea

World premiere: Berlinale 2021 / Generation Kplus

12-year-old Reyboy lives in Karihatag, an isolated fishing village in the south of the Philippines. Every morning, the men set out to sea. Their daily catch is shared upon their return and the area close to the shore has been turned into an ecological safe haven for fish. In Karihatag, every boy grows up to become a fisherman. However, when the first rain falls, Reyboy will leave for the city to study.  

In Last Days at Sea, first-time director Venice Atienza joins Reyboy for his last summer at home. They spend the days watching the clouds change shape, and the nights looking up at the stars imagining life on Saturn. Reyboy shares the beauty he sees in the little things around him; the rocks, the crabs, the water. They talk about what it means to be home. Nothing seems to happen at the surface. But slowly, the cracks in Reyboy’s paradise start to appear. While the fishermen of Karihatag risk their lives as the yearly storms become increasingly dangerous due to climate change, Reyboy’s goodbye to the only life he has ever known becomes imminent.