Ghosts of the Sea

Country: Canada, France

Languages: French, English

Director: Virginia Tangvald

Production year: 2022

Runtime: 1h30

Ghosts Of The Sea is a feature-length documentary directed by Virginia Tangvald.

Virginia only knew her father, the relentless adventurer Peter Tangvald, through his best-selling memoirs and his acclaim in the press. After experiencing success followed by bankruptcy in Beverly Hills in the 1950’s, the Norwegian-born socialite left everything behind to spend the rest of his life sailing the world on a boat he had built himself, defying both convention and the elements. Married seven times, he lost two of his wives at sea before he himself died alongside his 8 year old daughter when his boat sank in the West Indies in 1991. His son, Thomas, the only survivor of this tragedy, subsequently replicated his father’s bohemian way of life until his own boat vanished without a trace in 2014. In an investigation that takes her from Scandinavia to France by way of Canada and the Caribbean, Virginia sets out to uncover the secrets of her family and understand her brother’s mysterious disappearance. As disturbing revelations and suspicious deaths pile up, she starts to discover what her brother Thomas may have been running from, and realizes that her father may not be the hero she – like many others – had idealized her whole life. 

(Fr) Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal (FNC) 2024, Compétition Nationale

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