Céline Roustan
A year after losing his climate activist daughter, Paul returns to work. As a saturation diver, he heads back to the North Sea, rejoins his team on an oil rig and prepares for a dive – still haunted by the tragedy. With Dive, writer/director Will Peppercorn crafts an exceptional environmental thriller, creating a gripping narrative driven by a steadily mounting tension that plunges us into the protagonist’s inner emotional pressure cooker.
“Activists face a Catch-22: march peacefully and be dismissed as irrelevant, or take direct action and be branded a terrorist”
When discussing the inspiration behind the film, Peppercorn cites author Robert Swan: “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it”. He also reflects on the catch-22 faced by activists: “march peacefully and be dismissed as irrelevant, or take direct action and be branded a terrorist”. When penning the screenplay, Peppercorn was intentional about focusing the perspective on a working class family, where a father is caught between the responsibilities of his job and his daughter’s political views – dragging us, as he puts it. “into the fight from the inside out”.
The cinematography of Dive is striking, with each shot carrying an immersive quality. From the chaotic energy of the protests to the vast beauty of the North Sea, and the tight, claustrophobic confines of the rig, DP Toby Elwes captures it all with a visual language that heightens the film’s thriller tone, making it all the more engaging for the audience. Perhaps most surprising element of the photography is that the underwater sequence was achieved using the dry-for-wet technique – perfectly creating the illusion of depth without ever having to go underwater. Movie magic!
“I want to tell this story through the lens of ordinary people, from a deeply human perspective” – Peppercorn on his aims for Dive
From the stunning visuals, editor Donya Maguire shapes a rhythm that perfectly matches the story’s pacing. Her cuts alternate between sharp and lingering, heightening both the dramatic weight and the thriller atmosphere of the screenplay. She ensures that the film remains captivating from the first to the last frame, moving the narrative forward while subtly cueing the audience into both factual details and emotional undercurrents – always leaving us eager to see what happens next.
Ambitious as the film is from a production perspective, it’s ultimately the lead performance that ties it all together. In the lead role, Billy Mack is simply incredible. With very few lines, he conveys the layered and nuanced emotional turmoil of his character, his doubts blended with his grief. Delivering a performance that feels both effortless and deeply convincing, his close-ups, in particular, truly give the film its emotional poignancy.
Ahead of its online debut on Short of the Week, Dive toured the festival circuit with a notable stop at Camerimage. Peppercorn is currently developing the feature-length adaptation of the short, with the script already at an advanced stage. He is also working on several other projects, including a new short thriller, Sister, where he reunites with actor Billy Mack.