“We are shocked by how waste travels through the oceans, carrying tons of plastic from one place to another”
The Seattle Coffee Museum and a theater and movie theater in Pennsylvania, United States, the Osada Molusiowka in Koszarawa, Poland, the Cale de Radoub in Toulouse, France, the REAG Belas Artes in São Paulo, Brazil, and the Las Barrancas Fishing and Nautical Club in Argentina, in different latitudes and regions of the world, have only one thing in common: throughout 2025, they screened a unique documentary, Women & the Wind: Three Women, One Catamaran and the North Atlantic Ocean, directed by Alizé Jireh, with co-direction by Kiana Weltzien and Lærke Heilmann, which narrates the journey of three women aboard the Mara Noka, a 50-year-old wooden catamaran, crossing the North Atlantic to denounce the 14 million tons of plastic that end up in the ocean each year.
It all began a few years ago, in 2019 to be precise, when Kiana Weltzien, while sailing, observed the vast amount of waste and debris polluting the ocean. Kiana met Lærke in the Canary Islands, and together they conceived the project. Shortly after, Alizé joined the group and proposed making a film about their project. A little later than planned, due to the pandemic, cruise seasons, and ship repairs, in 2022, Kiana, Alizé, and Lærke embarked on a voyage from Beaufort, North Carolina, to the Azores for almost thirty days, where they sought to document the presence of plastic waste carried by the Gulf Stream. The film about this entire journey has now been released and, with the wind in their favor, is making its way around the world.
On this voyage across the North Atlantic, the young women faced challenges such as a lack of wind, the occasional storm, the setbacks inherent in sailing, the calm seas, and living in a confined space among three virtual strangers, which led to a deep introspection about their relationship with nature and, of course, with themselves. The documentary film that brings together this encounter and this journey combines striking images of the ocean with a series of personal reflections, highlighting the two sides of the sea, with its beauty and its fury, in a profound connection with which these women challenged limits, their relationship with the sea, and their concern for the waste, of which only 0.5%—they say—is visible above the surface.
How dis this project come about?
How did you manage to pull it off?
—(Lærke) The project began when Kiana and I met in the Canary Islands (where I was living at the time). From the very beginning, we hit it off and thought it would be interesting to do a project together, one that had a connection to the Atlantic Ocean because it was something that connected and inspired us. We were struck by how waste traveled through these seas, carrying tons of plastic from one side to the other, on currents, winds, and tides, all the way across the North Atlantic to the Caribbean itself. At first, we didn’t have any subsidies or budgets to do the project, but, at least in my case, I had a persistent feeling that I needed to do this even though it was fraught with challenges. So I decided to sell my car and my surfboard, traveled to the United States, and this whole new adventure began. I think, ultimately, what inspired and brought us together was the shared desire to live an adventure and create something bigger that would transcend ourselves. We both had that inner calling to undertake this project, but without having many details defined, just with the certainty that we needed to do it.
What happened in the United States when you traveled to meet Kiana?
—(Lærke) In the United States, it turned out that the boat we were counting on wasn’t in good enough condition to sail, so we ended up spending a whole year at the shipyard preparing and getting it ready. Then, when we finally finished the project of preparing the boat, we missed the first season to cross the Atlantic and then decided to try the second one. The idea was to do the crossing with other women, and that’s when we met Alizé, because Kiana and she followed each other on Instagram. Kiana contacted her and asked her—basically—if she wanted to cross the Atlantic to make a film. She said yes, which was a really crazy answer for someone who’s never sailed before or doesn’t do it regularly. But yes, she said yes to crossing the Atlantic on that boat, without hesitation. I think that made me like her instantly because I knew that maybe she was as crazy as the two of us (laughs).
That’s what I wanted to ask you. I was very curious when you were young: how did you learn to sail and what knowledge did you have to undertake these types of voyages??
—(Kiana) I learned to sail when I bought the Maranaca. I was very lucky to have gained two years of experience living aboard a boat much more rustic and simple than mine. And I learned from a man who sails very simply. His boat is called the Antong Java. But, essentially, I learned to sail once I bought the boat and got on it.
—(Alizé) I’ve always had a fascination with sailing because I was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, so my connection with the ocean is very deep. I’m a Scorpio, and I love water as an element. Also, at one point, I had a literal obsession with the ocean: I started dreaming a lot about boats. But, until that moment, no, I didn’t know anything about sailing, although I dreamed of learning it from a very young age, but for financial reasons, I was never able to attend any courses. When I grew up, other priorities arose, like starting my career as a photographer and filmmaker, so I focused on that.
—(Lærke) I don’t really think I know, but I feel very comfortable on boats. My parents have sailed all their lives, and we sailed a lot in Denmark when I was a kid, so I know how to feel on board a boat. However, before crossing the North Atlantic, I had no experience on long voyages like this, nor did I have any sailing skills.
What was that first voyage from Beaufort to North Carolina like? What were you trying to prove on that route?
—(Lærke) The trip from St. Augustine to North Carolina was a bit of a test run, because we had just set up the rig, and before heading out to sea, we wanted to check how the boat was doing while sailing close to shore. We had a friend in North Carolina who would help us with the provisioning, with the intention of bringing fresh local vegetables for the entire voyage.
Who designed the boat?
—(All) Mara Noka’s design is a direct descendant of Wharram’s RONGO, the first catamaran to sail west to east across the North Atlantic. It was built in an era when safety and cruising efficiency were paramount, and little attention was paid to space and comfort. The boat’s design and lifestyle are primitive and revive the spirit of ancient navigators.
What equipment did they have on board? Could you please explain what the ship was like, what year it was from, what its main features were, whether it had any instruments and what type.
—(All) The Mara Noka was built 50 years ago in Whitby, England. She is a classic NARAI design by James Wharram, considered the “father of multihulls.” Made of nylon-covered plywood and tar-coated, after being wrecked in 1974, she spent most of her life in the Mediterranean Sea and eventually crossed the Atlantic to the jungles of Panama. The boat is propelled by the wind, supplemented only by an outboard motor when entering or leaving difficult areas. During the voyage, we used traditional navigation methods, combining the chartplotter with pencil and paper, sailing without depth sounder, radar, autopilot, or anemometer.
Alizé, this was actually your first film: How many hours of filming did you get, and how did you have to combine them to capture that experience?
—(Alizé) This is my first feature film: I said yes when I didn’t even know it was going to be such a big project. I didn’t know, above all, the amount of time and energy I would have to dedicate to it after the crossing itself. It was more than 100 hours of filming. It took us about three months to organize everything before handing it over to the editor. The editing time was about a year and a half. At first, we didn’t have much help; in fact, I bought my own equipment.
What cameras did you have?
—(Alizé) I prepared with minimal equipment. To film, I brought a Panasonic GH5 with a 17.5-millimeter Voigtlander lens. I also had a drone, a tripod, and a shell. I always had the camera in hand, present, intuitively choosing the moments where I felt the image was possible. The camera helps me a lot to be aware of what’s happening, how it looks, how to compose the shot; I was attentive with my eyes and my heart.
The project also includes an initiative that seeks to empower women to lead environmental conservation projects through adventure. Can you tell us a little more about this?
—(Kiana) The documentary is the flagship project of the Mujeres en el Viento Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting women-led environmental adventure projects, with a specific focus on new and high-risk projects, as they’re very difficult to fund. That was our experience trying to raise funds before the trip. We weren’t successful, but I think we ultimately raised $4,000, which was enough to cover food and plane tickets. And so, 50 percent of all profits from the film will remain with the foundation to support these other women’s projects.
The film had its world premiere on April 19th of this year, what happened since then?
—(Alizé) The screenings are about the way we’ve been able to share the film, in communities, in clubs, or in movie theaters, in different cities around the world, so that people can come together and see it after so many years. The idea is to be able to connect, talk, and feel, genuinely, with all the people who supported this project and with the new ones we met along the way. It’s wonderful how much love and curiosity grows in the audience after seeing the film, to connect with oneself and also with nature. That’s essential for us as human beings.
—(Kiana) The film was an exhausting but very interesting and fun process. I’ve always enjoyed the filmmaking process on a much smaller scale, having made a couple of YouTube videos, but this was truly impressive: being able to witness how each member of the crew can bring their own creativity to bear on this project. Right now, I don’t think I’ll write a book like I had previously planned. I realize (or rather, accept) that there are parts of my story that I don’t necessarily want to share with the general public yet. I hope one day I will, but witnessing how much attention Women in the Wind has received as a project has made me much more aware of the consequences or what it really means to have so many people paying attention to what you do.
—(Lærke) We’ve been very lucky to be able to travel with the film. We toured France with the organization Around the Waves, with whom we were able to organize many screenings in small cinemas throughout France, where the audience stayed until the end to ask us questions. We’re now in Brazil, celebrating our latest world premiere in São Paulo, and we have some screenings planned at ParaTi, in a small public cinema in that city. Meanwhile, on this tour, we’ve also had a lot of community screenings, so we’ve opened the application process for people to organize their own screenings. We received over 100 applications, and there have already been over 100 screenings worldwide, which has been great. We’re now planning the next steps for the digital release and also looking at how to move forward from here to ensure the film reaches as many people as possible.
How can we work together to mitigate plastic pollution in the ocean?
—(Lærke) Personally, I’m going back to my work at the Clean Ocean Project. It’s a small NGO based in the Canary Islands. We work daily on beach cleanups and educating people about plastic waste pollution and coastal protection in general. So I’m going back to this work and looking at how we can combat ocean pollution. I think the first step is understanding that ocean pollution starts on land and that, as consumers, we all have power, although the most important change will have to come from large companies, governments, and legislation that regulates states. But to achieve this, as consumers, we have our small power: I think simply being aware of our own plastic consumption and trying to minimize it whenever possible is a big step. I also think we need to be aware of who the big polluters are and decide if we want to contribute by donating our money to those companies. I think that’s the most powerful tool we have. And then, yes, continuing to talk about the problem and participating in different solutions. We have many resources on our website, for example, and although it may seem overwhelming, I believe doing nothing isn’t the solution. Although it may seem impossible, at least I prefer to do something.
Alizé, how did you decide to cross the Atlantic with two women you had barely met?
—(Alizé) During the pandemic, Kiana saw a photography project I did in Africa, found me, and started following me on Instagram. That’s how we started talking a bit. I really liked her vibe, which was that of a solo sailor. The communication was brief but still enough to spark an interest in getting to know each other. We met one afternoon in September 2021 when I went to visit her. At the time, we didn’t even talk about making a documentary, but I secretly wanted her to take me on her trip (even though the boat was still very run down and there were still a lot of repairs to be done). She talked about writing a book (because she’s a writer) and taking photographs. Then she had the idea of making a documentary about the experience of collecting plastics in the seas and denouncing this whole situation. All these ideas then transformed into a deeper search, which has to do with our connection to the ocean and how we are experiencing life in sync with nature. Then I traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina, in June 2022. So I’d only met Kiana twice, and that’s when I met Lærke. I try to use my intuition and never thought about the difficulty. Well, yes, I kind of thought, “Wow, I might die. I don’t know what I’m doing. The ocean is an immense creature and it scares me” (laughs). But then I understood the excitement of crossing an ocean and that this was a unique opportunity, so, you know, how could I say no? So, I thought, “It feels right, I want to do this, and I’m going for it.”
Below you can watch a trailer for the documentary “Women & the Wind” on their YouTube channel.
Links:
Women and the wind: https://www.womenandthewind.com/
From “Navegantes Oceánicos” we would like to thank Laerke, Kiana, and Alizé, stars of “Women & the Wind,” for their collaboration with this fascinating interview.
Congratulations on your ocean voyage and the documentary “Women & the Wind.” We wish you much success and luck in the future.
