Jacques Mayol

Actor

April 1, 1927 (74 years)

† December 22, 2001

Shanghai, China

Biography

Jacques Mayol, born April 1, 1927, in Shanghai, China, and died December 22, 2001, in Capoliveri, on the island of Elba, Italy, was a French freediver whose story inspired the film The Big Blue (1988). Jacques Mayol grew up in Shanghai, in the French Concession, where his father was an architect. In the summer, the family would often travel to Karatsu, Japan, via the Shanghai-Nagasaki shipping line. It was there that he learned to dive at the age of six. He was fascinated by the "ama," Japanese…

Filmography

5.7

Sacrée soirée

Self

No description available

7.8

Dolphin Man

Self (archive footage)

As well as providing the subject for Luc Besson’s The Big Blue, Jacques Mayol did more than anyone to establish the sport of free diving to enormous depths without an oxygen supply. Using breathing techniques derived from yoga, he went to 50, 60, and even 100 meters—depths no one had considered to be within the bounds of human possibility. Mayol was a sportsman, a mystic, a vagabond, but above all, a man who believed in testing the limits of experience. This visually stunning tribute shows a man’s quest to be at one with the vastness of the ocean and to have no fear of the abyss within, where lurks serenity, freedom and finally, death.

10.0

Gaia Symphony

Self

Gaia Symphony is a television series directed by Jin Tatsumura. The series revolves around the Gaia hypothesis. The series has eight episodes. Each episode examines a small number of extraordinary people who somehow relate to the central theme. Some of the people examined are famous people. For example, Jane Goodall and Reinhold Messner. Created originally in the Japanese language, there are English versions available.

7.5

Ocean Men, Extreme Dive

Self

For more than 10 years, world champion freedivers Pipin Ferreras and Umberto Pelizzari have been vying for world records. Their love of the sea without compromise is what unites these two rivals. However, it is their different personalities and opposing diving philosophies that separate them. Pipin is the "No Limits" man who wants to go deeper and deeper. Umberto, the purist, seeks harmony in the ocean's depth. Ocean Men takes you into the world of these two awe-inspiring freedivers through the use of breathtaking underwater photography, enchanting music, and insightful animation.

10.0

The Big Blue Adventure

Self (Voice)

Making-off from The Big Blue movie

8.3

Droit de Réponse

Self

"Droit de Réponse" (Right of Reply) is a French debate program broadcast between December 12, 1981 and September 19, 1987 on the TF1 channel, presented by Michel Polac and produced by Maurice Dugowson. Broadcast live on a weekly basis, on Saturdays from 8.30 p.m., the right of reply has been the source of many controversies, due to the various speakers who have come to present their point of view on the show (which leads to famous scandals , remained in the memory of viewers), but also for the variety and relevance of the topics covered, which ensured the success of the program on the air for several years. On French television, this program is considered by some observers as a “pioneer program in terms of controversy-show or clash, in modern language”.

10.0

A Cruise with Whales and Dolphins

Self

The story of Captain Cousteau’s chief diver, Bernard Delemotte, and freediving champion Jacques Mayol, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean with two little girls to dive with dolphins and whales.

N/A

Oceania: The Human/Dolphin Connection: The Promise of Tomorrow

Self

Dr. Estelle Myers takes viewers on a journey through the history of humanity's relationship with cetacea.

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