The documentary film, Amasan, will look at the dying art of the Amasan, or Sea Women of Shirahama, Japan… women who plumb the depths of the ocean for prized abalone, a culinary delicacy. Diving together for decades, these women have formed a tightly-knit bond, as well as a business co-operative, providing economic security for their husbands and families. Hardly the timid, self-effacing stereotype of the Japanese female, these women embody a courage and spirit rarely portrayed in films about women in Japan. The objective of this film is to celebrate the brazen spirit of these seven Ama, and to bring their inspirational stories to an international audience. At a time when the pressures of globalization and environmental degradation have wreaked havoc on the fishing industry worldwide, these women and their inherently balanced, almost sacred relationship with the sea serve as a metaphor for a way of life fast disappearing. It’s a film that celebrates growing old while embracing the beauty, camaraderie and longevity of female friendship, defined by lives lived mostly “underwater” and the freedom that they find beneath the sea.

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During the week, they arrive at gleaming, hi-rise buildings in power business suits, or teach high school, a few of them even own their own businesses. Yet no matter what they are doing, all of them usually have only one thing on their mind. So when the weekend comes, it doesn’t matter if it’s humid, blazing hot or pouring rain, they gather together in a park on the outskirts of Tokyo to train. They are the members of MUD, the top women’s Ultimate Frisbee team in the world.

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