Dirty Dozen Productions and RadicalMedia have unveiled a documentary about the June 2023 Titan submersible implosion in which five people died en route to the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean.
The film is directed by Aron Arngrimsson, who is said to be the last person to see the Titan crew alive as he closed the submersible hatch before they set off. The doc, now in post-production, will feature first-hand footage from Arngrimsson of the Titan as it began its ill-fated expedition ahead of the unfolding tragedy after its signal was lost.
“He [Arngrimsson] exclusively tells the emotional experience of five Titan crew members, revealing the family stories behind the media headlines and exposing the painful consequences of an exploration gone wrong,” a synopsis from the producers stated.
The U.S. Coast Guard, which responded to a report of the sub’s disappearance, eventually concluded the missing sub imploded during its dive near the Titanic wreckage site and that all aboard were killed instantly.
The sub was operated by OceanGate Expeditions, whose CEO, Stockton Rush, also died. Rush had been criticized for earlier media appearances where he admitted to using off-the-shelf components to build his sub without certification.
The implosion of the Titan made headlines around the world, which included accounts of the five people who died on board. “We are committed to telling this important story with the thoroughness it deserves, through exclusive interviews with the Titan crew members and in the aftermath with the families,” said Arngrimsson in a statement on Tuesday.
The documentary is set to debut in 2025, with plans for a journey on the festival circuit and distribution across major platforms.
“The unprecedented access Aron had to the Titan crew, their families and this story, was remarkable. He was there, first-hand, experiencing all of this in real time. It was extremely important to us to tell this story authentically, given the tremendous media attention it received,” Stacey Reiss, executive producer at RadicalMedia, added.
The film is produced by Reiss, Antti Apunen, Geoff Creighton and Arngrimsson, with the executive producer credits shared by Louie Psihoyos, Dave Sirulnick and Brian Henderson. ITN Productions unveiled an earlier documentary about the Titan sub tragedy, The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute, which aired earlier this year on Channel 5 in the U.K.
