Malala Yousafzai production firm, Extracurricular, has teamed up with independent studio A24 on a feature documentary on the famed “haenyeo” culture of fisherwomen on South Korea’s Jeju Island. The film tells the story of “Korea’s Mermaids,” a group of elderly free divers. These ladies provide for the island people of Jeju Island by fishing seafood off the shore.
Matriarchs, breadwinners, and noisy grandmothers, the haenyeo have diminished in recent decades. However, their descendants are now working to resurrect their ancestors’ renowned and often risky lifestyle, while also battling to safeguard the ocean from the oncoming environmental catastrophe. The film joins Apple’s growing documentary slate, which includes the Toronto-premiering documentary “Sidney,” as well as a four-part docuseries on Earvin “Magic” Johnson, “They Call Me Magic,” the Emmy Award-nominated documentary “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry,” and the Critics’ Choice Documentary Award-nominated film “The Velvet Underground.” When it is released, the unnamed documentary will be available to all Apple TV+ users. A subscription costs $4.99 per month or may be obtained through any tier of the Apple One subscription package.
