?Children of the Sea? ? a 40-minute documentary by Bermudian Dana Zhyon Selassie ? highlights the director?s talent for getting the right shot.

Ms Selassie, a newcomer to the film making scene, has a beautiful looking piece with well-constructed tight shots of the faces of her subjects. She has all the footage to tell the story that she wants to tell ? shots of the Scaur on a clear day with calm waters, shots of the Scaur in inclement weather, people in punts on a bright day and people in pilot boats with full rain gear in heavy windy conditions.

Ms Selassie has edited the footage very well. She moves from the subject talking about difficult weather to shots of difficult weather and from talk about safety gear to shots of life jackets and boaters in proper gear.

While the documentary is aesthetically pleasing, the point was not clearly defined. The subtitle of the piece says it is a tribute to Bermuda?s lost boatmen but only three men are mentioned in any type of detail. Firstly we hear from Geraldine Lambert that her father, Alex Pearman went down with the J&K on Halloween back in 1982. Next Kenny Thompson recalls the night his father Kenneth (Micky) Thompson was lost in the same incident then Ray Lambert Jr. talks about his grandfather Alex Pearman. But we?ve already heard about Mr. Pearman in a rather repetitive interview with his daughter.

None of the three interviews moved me in any real way and I don?t believe they?ll have any impact on anyone who didn?t personally know the missing men. But I did think at that point that we were going to hear from families of the other three men who went down with this boat. We did not. The next time we hear about a missing mariners is much further along in the documentary and again in an interview that cannot move a stranger to the incident.

Near the end of the film we hear from Bobby Lambe who lost two mates, Alan Edness and Micah Battersbee in 2002. His story is riveting but focuses on his survival efforts, not the lives of Mr. Edness and Mr. Battersbee.

Between each of the missing accounts Ms Selassie has added interviews on marine safety. I found this a bit jarring and by the time Harbour Radio?s Scott Simmons spoke, I was completely bored with it.

Ms Selassie has also included dreamlike sequences of woman walking to the water and around in it. The footage is beautiful, but doesn?t tie the piece together well. I figure this woman may be the spirit of the sea who has claimed the life of the mariners mentioned ? but it really seems as though the director just liked the look and feel of it.

More than anything it is the footage that keeps your interest in this piece. Clearly Ms Selassie is artistic and strong technically. She shows that she has her own style and tells her stories in a unique way. Those are indicators of real promise in a filmmaker and once she defines her subject more clearly, she?ll be a winner.

@EDITRULE:

Children of the Sea will be screened four times at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute: Sunday, March 21 at 9 p.m.; Wednesday, March 24 at 6.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. and Thursday, March 25 at 6.30 p.m.