EXCLUSIVE: In the fresh documentary A Life Illuminated, marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder comments, “You never get tired of this.” T
EXCLUSIVE: In the fresh documentary A Life Illuminated, marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder comments, “You never get tired of this.”
The “this” she refers to is sinking below the ocean surface to explore the mysterious deep, a place of wondrous bioluminescence and strange marine creatures. The film directed by Tasha Van Zandt takes us along for the captivating journey with Dr. Widder, who “has spent a lifetime exploring the ocean depths, which contain endless secrets.” We have your first look at the film in the clip above.
A Life Illuminated held its world premiere on Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival and screened at TIFF again today. It makes its U.S. premiere on Sunday at the Camden International Film Festival in Maine.
(L-R) Director Tasha Van Zandt and Dr. Edith Widder of ‘A Life Illuminated’ at the Toronto Film Festival on September 7, 2025.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for IMDb
“A Life Illuminated follows trailblazing marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder—one of the first women in her field and one of the first humans to explore the ocean’s twilight zone—as she descends 3,300 feet into the ocean’s darkest depths,” notes a synopsis. “From capturing the first-ever footage of the elusive giant squid to unveiling the glowing mysteries of deep-sea bioluminescence, Edie embarks on her most daring quest yet: to document a bioluminescent phenomenon that could forever change how we understand life on Earth.”
The documentary is a production of Sandbox Films in association with XTR, Minderoo Pictures, and OceanX Media. Van Zandt’s credits include The Gun Chronicles: A Story Of America (2019), One Thousand Stories: The Making of a Mural (2019), Tehachapi (2021), and The Chronicles of Miami (2023), and After Antarctica (2021). (For you sharp-eyed cinephiles, some of Dr. Widder’s undersea footage was used in the 2022 TV special Jaws vs. Kraken).
‘A Life Illuminated’
Sandbox Films courtesy Sebastian Zeck
TIFF’s chief documentary programmer, Thom Powers, writes in the festival program, “[A Life Illuminated] reminds us that science is a practice of trial and error. It’s not enough to have a great theory. In order to prove it, you need institutional support, favorable weather, and a large helping of good luck. Widder has gone on plenty of expeditions that didn’t pan out. Her perseverance is a wonder to behold. And that’s not the only wonder we get to witness as we take this unforgettable journey at her side.”
Take the plunge with Dr. Widder in the clip above from A Life Illuminated.
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