FAR TORTUGA

Based on the novel by Peter Matthiessen

Far Tortuga is Peter Matthiessen’s forgotten masterpiece of fiction published in 1975 and set in the Cayman Islands which explores the complex relationship between man and the natural world. The novel also happens to be the writer's favorite amongst his thirty-odd books! Since the dialect portrayed was largely written in phonetic Creole, it has proved a difficult read for many who tried. It is nonetheless a breathtaking piece of ethnographic reporting, morphed into an intense narrative by Matthiessen's slight fictionalization of an actual Caymanian expedition he joined in the late 1960's.

 Far Tortuga is currently being adapted into a feature film of the same name by an impressive young filmmaker named Jack Evans together with his production team at their Another World Entire studio. The filmmakers are raising money for the film (both among investors and philanthropists) and hoping to start shooting later this fall and through next summer, with a release toward the end of 2024. In Far Tortuga, nine subsistence fishermen sign onto a voyage to harvest sea turtles off the Central American coast. In their struggle with an abusive captain, violent rivals, overfished waters, and their own fears of turtling's spiritual consequences, all fail to notice that something is hunting them. The novel is a visceral, mythic dive into cultural perspectives on fear and belief, set in a wilderness that is rarely depicted with authenticity on-screen.

Casting locally around the Caribbean and abroad for actors of Caribbean descent, Jack is aiming to amplify regional voices and introduce new connections in the film industry to local crew. In addition, the film is being written and directed with the editorial oversight of local collaborators and the descendants of the real-life fishermen who inspired Matthiessen’s creation of the novel’s characters.

 The story is a visceral, mythic dive into cultural perspectives on fear and belief, set in a wilderness that is rarely depicted with authenticity on-screen. This summer, the PMC had the pleasure of meeting with Jack who presented a concept trailer, a short form film called Eden River, which also served as an original prequel inspired by the novel’s main characters. The film, while not publicly released, has won over a dozen “best of” awards at festivals from Santa Fe to the Caribbean to Cannes. 

 As filmmaker (director and producer) Jack Evans recently described ...

 “Far Tortuga is a psycho-spiritual adventure thriller that asks the audience if they believe in a design to this universe. Our characters’ diverse backgrounds, superstitions, and beliefs, all crammed onto the same narrow boat together, create a dynamic of confusion between rational explanations and sensations of the divine. It is up to the viewer to feel out their own truths within this story’s mythos. Following these men through the visceral trials of subsistence fishing immerses us in a wild seascape that’s not yet been depicted in Western cinema.

The moral and ethical questions that are raised by the turtle hunt are urgently relevant to our moment of ecological crisis, and this poetic tale is an ideal way to raise them in the hearts of our viewers. Making this film is a chance to help preserve the legacies of a great American writer, a bygone subsistence culture, and a time and place unfamiliar to Western audiences. By bringing viewers a gorgeous and thrilling story suffused with severe moral challenges, we have a chance to make a landmark piece of indie cinema in the tradition of the great adventure films of the 70s and 80s, but with our modern day’s ethical relevance.”

We hope you enjoy the trailer for Far Tortuga below!