Sea Venture film to premiere this week

Following being featured as the opening night local film for BIFF, the film: 'The story of the Sea Venture: Downing's Wreck;' will have its official Premiere tonight Tuesday May 27th at the BUEI followed by the first public screening on Thursday the 29th also at the BUEI. "After five years in production, this will serve as the official release of the film whilst we continue developing the curriculum modules in conjunction with public and private school educators." Executive Producer: J-P Rouja The film reviews the period of colonial expansion and the events of 1609 that led to the settlement of Bermuda before turning its attention to more recent times and the account of the Sea Venture's rediscovery in 1959, her identification and the study of her surviving timbers.

The study of the Sea Venture straddles a fascinating period in maritime archaeology, from its inception to the present day use of computer modeling techniques, each step shedding new light on Bermuda's most celebrated ship wreck.

In the process we explain the history and culture of diving and salvage in Bermuda, which at its inception was one of the cornerstones of our economy bringing in much needed foreign currency.

Detailed mapping of the Sea Venture's timbers, a rare Elizabethan shipwright's manuscript and modeling software has allowed researchers to extrapolate the missing timbers and for the first time, allow us to see what the Sea Venture really looked like.

Further analysis with ship design software at the University of Southampton has demonstrated that her hull was exceptionally well designed and built specifically for the conditions of an Atlantic crossing - this allows us to address one of the key assumptions regarding the Sea Venture story - that her hull was not fit for purpose.

Historians have theorized that her deficiencies resulted in her being 'swallowed up' by the storm leading to the ship's demise. The archaeological research however, concludes that it was the fact that the hull was of such good design that she survived an incredible three and a half days in a hurricane, able to deliver her passengers safely to Bermuda and start over 400 years of our history.

Its thanks to this ship not because of her that things turned out as they did - for all of us.

Sea Venture Film Overview: This project was initiated with the help of a Grant from the 2009 Charitable Trust to create what was initially intended to be a 25 minute film primarily for educational use. However once we began researching the topic it became clear that a much more detailed (50 minute) and higher quality film would be required to do this most important topic justice.

This project has compiled all existing media assets related to the Sea Venture both internationally and locally, sourced from archives, museums, image libraries, BBC archives, National Geographic archives and private collections. This was an exhaustive process and includes tracking down 32 year old film reels in the UK of BBC interviews which we rescued and converted. This alone took 18 months.

Now with the completion and release this year, of the final portions of the ongoing archeological research that we have been documenting (the results of which have yet to be made public) we are now able to finish the film.

This resulting film is being produced in HD to broadcast standards setting a new benchmark for local films of this type.

LookBermuda Educational Use: We have thus far shared draft versions of the film with public and private school educators (for whom the chapter based structure of the film was specifically developed) who have all confirmed that it will be embedded in their curriculums ensuring its use for years to come with generations of students. BHS in fact has insisted on starting to use the draft version, please see the attached letter.

"It will be used in all Bermuda schools for the teaching of Bermuda history and has merits for the teaching of other subjects as well ... I would strongly recommend the use of the Sea Venture film to other IB Theory of Knowledge teachers here in Bermuda and around the world." Harvey Cornish, Head of History, Bermuda High School "It is an example of the preservation of our history and can assist in developing students' ability to discern what should be preserved for future generations." Mr. Warren Jones, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education

Distribution: It was the opening night local film for BIFF 2014 which will be followed by an official Premiere on May 27th and subsequent public screenings. It will then be embedded in local curriculums, broadcast on local TV, streamed online and released as part of a DVD and Blu Ray DVD set to ensure that the widest cross section of Bermuda's population are able to see it. Please contact BUEI regarding the Thursday night screening.