Beneath the surface of the ocean exists an incredibly hostile world – an icy world shrouded in eternal darkness where the pressure is phenomenal. This world is the abyssal realm – the largest habitat on our planet.
Yet some sea mammals that breathe air and nurture their young, like us, spend much of their time in this dark world. Scientists are now discovering that the depths reached by these ocean giants are much greater than previously thought.

Thanks to transmitter beacons carried by animals, abyssal cameras and 3D scanner images, this film accompanies and illustrates a contemporary scientific revolution. Built according to a dramatic progression towards the abyss – from the least to the deepest dive – it portrays animals that are often overlooked and their remarkable physiological adaptations to the pressures of great depths.

Director: Bertrand Loyer