One by one, they ascend the craggy peaks, barefoot, gingerly searching for toeholds. Once they reach a suitable perch, they hurl themselves into the air before gravity pulls them to the turbulent ocean below.
These are the famous La Quebrada Cliff Divers of Acapulco, known for their daring maneuvers, performed from heights that can equal a 10-story building. Their pursuits are documented in the Oscar-contending film Voices From the Abyss, directed by Irving Serrano and Víctor Rejón. You can watch the film below for free on YouTube.
“We wanted to highlight them because they’re doing some things that are very extraordinary to a lot of us, because they do a lot of things for passion,” Serrano tells Deadline. “I think the most important thing they’re doing is expressing themselves with their bodies in a very dangerous way.”
A La Quebrada cliff diver in ‘Voices From the Abyss’
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Young divers and even some into middle age form the coterie of La Quebrada cliff divers, undertaking the activity almost as a way of life more than a means of making a living – though not a lucrative one. They have formed a professional association that charges modest sums of tourists to witness their feats. But times have become lean.
“We wanted to bring the divers to another public,” Serrano says, “because in Mexico, I wouldn’t say that they’re forgotten, but they’re not in the main topic right now.”
Some of the youngest divers almost resemble ducklings plopping into the water for the first time. The most seasoned performers execute their dives with breathtaking grace. For all of them, there’s inherent risk.
“If they don’t dive perfectly, they’re going to die because it is very dangerous,” Serrano affirms. “They have a lot of injuries. Sometimes they have life-threatening injuries and other times they have back injuries or arm injuries because it’s very hard to land all the time perfectly.”
‘Voices From the Abyss’
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The documentary has won prizes around the world, including Best Ibero American Short Film at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Mexico, as well as Best Documentary Short awards at Mexico’s Morelia International Film Festival, the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles, and the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival in Austin, TX. It also screened at DOC NYC, Cameraimage in Poland, the Busan International Short Film Festival in South Korea, and Hot Docs in Toronto.
Voices From the Abyss is shot in lustrous black and white.
“With the short film, we try to communicate how it is to be in the air, like flying,” Serrano explains. “And that’s why we use slow motion cameras because when they jump, it’s like they’re in some other place. I am a little jealous because I think that the experience they have going onto the cliff, jumping and flying, it is something you cannot feel.”
A young La Quebrada cliff diver resurfaces in ‘Voices From the Abyss’
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The photography also captures the roiling surface of the water pierced by the divers.
“The sea is very powerful, and we wanted it to be more personal, to be like a character,” Serrano notes. “The sea is very beautiful. La Quebrada is a beautiful place.”
The filmmakers will be returning often to La Quebrada to work on a feature documentary. The feature will foreground a 15-year-old diver named Lilia, who just celebrated her quinceañera.
“She’s wanting to be the first woman to jump from the highest part of La Quebrada,” Serrano says. “It’s very interesting because it used to be a closed men’s space and right now they’re opening it up.”
So, have filmmakers Víctor Rejón and Irving Serrano hurled themselves from the La Quebrada cliffs, imitating the divers they document? Well, sort of.
“Víctor and I, we jumped from one meter, one-to-five meters in the lower part of La Quebrada,” Serrano shares. “I wouldn’t go any higher than that myself. I mean, it’s scary.”
Watch the film here:
