The Book of the Sea

Synopsis

The Book of the Sea follows expert Chukotka hunters Alexey and Alexander as they journey through the Arctic seasons, hunting marine mammals to sustain their families and extended communities. The film captures the immense skill and labor of these contemporary hunters, as they carry forward traditional Inuit and Chukchi practices as “the people who live facing the sea.” Director Alexei Vakhrushev interweaves scenes from Alexey and Alexander’s hunts with the Yupik legend of The Woman Who Gave Birth to a Whale, brought to life through meticulously detailed clay animation. Through these overlapping narratives, hunting emerges not only as a means of survival, but as an embodied relationship with land and sea, shaped by complex social, spiritual, and moral worlds. Arctic landscapes hold ancestral spirits and knowledge, connecting people across generations and giving them strength to sustain their lifeways in a rapidly changing world.

Director Bio

Yupik Director Aleksei Vakhrushev was born in Anadyr, the capital of the Chukchi autonomous Region (Russia) in 1969. He received his degree in actors’ art at the Theatre Institute of Vladivostok and started his filmmaking study at the All Russian State Cinematography Institute (VGIK) in Moscow in 1991. He began his film career with the documentary Time When Dreams Melt (1996), offering an inside perspective on the life, problems, and hopes of the Indigenous people of Chukotka for the first time. Aleksei has worked across diverse parts of the film industry; he has written scripts, made commercials, worked as an AVID editor, and participated in ethnographic expeditions as a TV film director. Through his work, Vakhrushev seeks to inspire pride in Indigenous youth and foster global understanding of his people’s deep connections to land, sea, and ancestors.

Distribution

Journeyman Pictures
Contact: info@journeyman.tv 

 

I believe that the land holds important knowledge about the history of families and people. The land holds the spirits of the past and the spirits of their ancestors. The landscape – the sea and sky – is full of images, and these images give them the strength to maintain their traditions.