Women & the Wind | Three Women, 30 Days on the Atlantic | Documentary Film

Laura Haipl
Sep 18
7 min read

Updated: Sep 19

30 days on an old wooden catamaran across the North Atlantic – Women & the Wind accompanies three women as they encounter the wind, the waves, and themselves. A documentary film about adventure, closeness to nature, and letting go.

What happens when you step out of the rhythm of society, leave behind the noise of the world, and hand control over to wind and weather? Women & the Wind is not a classic sailing film about crossing the Atlantic. The documentary tells the story of a journey that outwardly begins with the search for plastic waste and inwardly becomes a profound experience of presence, trust, and letting go. On a more than 50-year-old wooden catamaran, three women sail across the Atlantic for 30 days through every wind and weather. On board: filmmaker Alizé Jireh, who experiences and documents this extraordinary journey up close.

In aesthetic, almost poetic images, the film captures the ever-changing nature of the sea – shifting between gentleness and storm – making the ocean’s duality tangible. This aesthetic lingers: it touches emotionally, mirrors our own inner journey, and opens a space for questions about connection, meaning, and what truly sustains us in life.

The Motifs and Motivations of the Film

The starting point of Women & the Wind is one of the urgent issues of our time: the growing pollution of the oceans by plastic waste. During her first Atlantic crossing in 2019, skipper Kiana witnessed how nets, bottles, canisters, and plastic bags drifted endlessly on the ocean’s surface, carried by the Gulf Stream from America to Europe. Deeply affected and motivated by this, she set sail again three years later – this time with filmmaker Alizé Jireh, environmental activist Lærke Heilmann, and the old wooden catamaran Mara Noka, to trace the paths of plastic waste together.

What began as an adventure and a documentary about plastic soon took on a far more personal character with each day at sea: the three women were confronted with the harsh reality of life on the ocean. Thirty days in a confined space, exposed to wind and weather, with no retreat, no comfort, no distance – neither from one another nor from themselves. At the heart of the film emerged another theme: the disconnection from nature and from ourselves caused by the convenience and the comfort of modern life. Surrounded by routines, distractions, and an excess of comfort, we easily lose touch with our primal need to experience the unknown, to surrender to wonder, and to grow through it.

The three sailors take precisely this step out of their comfort zone. Their journey across the Atlantic is not only a physical crossing of the ocean but also an inner journey – an act of letting go, of surrendering to what is greater than ourselves. This act of “surrender” runs like a red thread throughout the film: at sea, there is nothing to control except your own state of being. In this way, the ocean becomes the strongest symbol and, at the same time, the true protagonist of the film. The sea becomes the greatest connector of our world – a force that connects continents and people, dissolves borders, and reminds us that we are part of a larger whole.

“The blue never stops” – sensual impressions

The Atlantic unfolds on screen in an endless blue: “The blue never stops.” The images draw you in – into the depth, into the vastness, into this infinite blue. You see the countless forms of the waves, the ceaseless play of light on their surface, and the traces of the wind that shapes them. The camera invites you to feel the depth of the journey: it follows the women in personal moments, captures the silence between the waves, the breathlessness in the storm, and makes the immediacy of life at sea tangible – the constant balancing between control and surrender, closeness and solitude, strength and vulnerability. The fluid editing stretches time and space, allowing a perception of timelessness.

“When time doesn’t exist – I am good. No rush, no pushing, just presence, breath, and the endless play of nature.”

As a viewer – and as the sailors soon realize – the time that matters is not the one dictated by society. At sea, it is wind and waves that set the rhythm.

„In the North Atlantic, wind will come. It will come. [...] Wind requires a lot of patience. listen. This has a lot to teach.“

You learn to listen to the sea, to wait, to embrace the unknown, to let go of control. Filmmaker Alizé Jireh experienced the lessons of the ocean up close: Seasickness during the first two weeks forced her to release control and surrender fully to the waves.

„It did feel like I was this little baby, new to the world, being rocked to sleep by this big mama.“

On the screen, it becomes tangible how everything is alive, cyclical, interconnected, and in constant change. You also experience the power and vitality of the ocean: A storm lasting several days arises, the old wood of the catamaran creaks under the waves, the mainsail tears, the mast bends, the boat and the women reach their limits. These passages pull you along, make your breath quicken, and reveal that this too is changeable and not forever. In this trial, the connection to one another and to oneself grows.

"After days of tempest, everyone came into own solitude, to keep the minds strong. Then again: blue skies, sun shining, wild live around us beginning to show again, time for community."

The waves are in constant transformation and on an eternal journey. As a viewer of the film, you are invited to perceive this cycle as well and to remember the ceaseless movement: how far the waves travel, tirelessly crossing the Atlantic, enduring storms, and transforming into calm motions until they reach the coast, lose their shape, and return to the ocean.

"Waves in the ocean travel so far, have been through so many things until they got that what they are. When they touch the coast, their journey is gone and then the water gets back to the ocean and transforms again."

The documentary film brings you closer to the authenticity of life in and with nature. This is also what fulfills and motivates the three women in their experience:

"The ocean, the earth, the animals, the wind, the sun – that’s real."

Each scene draws you in, allowing you to experience the journey of the waves and the women — their letting go, their fear, their growing strength — while feeling your own presence. The vastness of the ocean is not just the film’s backdrop but an active participant, reflecting the inner processes of the women. Alizé Jireh’s cinematography captures not only the physical elements of sailing but also the subtle emotional nuances.

Lessons from Wind, Waves and the Sea

On the wooden boat, in the middle of the Atlantic, without distractions, comfort, or routines, the three women find themselves on their own island and experience true presence: “Not being connected to the world makes the present way more present. Just being connected to that moment.” Everything that matters is the moment itself – your own presence, your senses, and the unceasing movement of wind and waves.

The rhythm of wind and waves also teaches us that uncertainty is not a threat, but an invitation to open up – to nature, to others, and most importantly, to oneself. The more in tune you are with yourself, with your own ability to shape life, to face fears and leave them behind, the stronger this connection becomes:

"The more in tune you become with yourself and your abilities to create a life, or to imagine it become reality, to manifest, to fight that fear, to put that fear aside, and really go for it, the more you become connected to the whole."

The challenges of living in close connection with nature and with others on the boat are often a mix of comfort and discomfort: “Your level of comfort or discomfort just gets pushed all the time. But there was always some sort of comfort. I guess it is just that thing, that nothing is forever.” Those who dare to embrace the unknown discover that fear is not a boundary, but a passage:

„The unknown is scary, but it is not scary anymore, as soon as you let it go. As soon as you dive in.“

This is exactly one of the essences of the journey at sea: letting go, trusting, surrendering. Decisions are guided by intuition and feeling, not by plan or control, the three women conclude: “Don’t waste time for what you think should be and go for what you feel should be.”

For filmmaker Alizé Jireh, the journey was proof of trusting herself: "I trust myself in a level that I never did, because I know that I can go through hardship and uncomfortable situations, like seasickness for two weeks, and still have like high spirits and not complain about it, because I can’t, like how can I complain about something so small, when I am experiencing something so immense around me? Trust yourself all the time." She describes seeing herself in a new light. Never before had she experienced such profound, adventurous moments where she could recognize how strong she truly is — physically and emotionally.

In this proximity to the ocean, to the waves, wind, and sun, it becomes clear that everything has its purpose and reason:

„Being so close to the ocean makes me feel everything happens intentionally… everything takes longer than planned in nature — you cannot plan. The ocean, nature is in control, not we.“

For you as a viewer, this means immersing yourself in presence, pausing, and empathizing – with the women, with the waves, with yourself. Women & the Wind shows that it is possible to find a balance between letting go and control, fear and trust, solitude and community – and that every journey, whether on the ocean or in your own life, is an opportunity for transformation.

Various movie posters for “Women & the Wind”

Raise the Sails and Let Yourself Drift

A brief escape from everyday life and a chance to be fully present. The documentary film Women & the Wind takes you on a journey where you can feel the vastness of the Atlantic, the power of the waves, and the calm between storms — all without being physically there.

Watch the women as they let go, trust the ocean, and trust themselves, and perhaps discover a piece of your own balance along the way. Immerse yourself, breathe with them, and let yourself be moved.