Jago: A Life Underwater

Directed by

James Reed

Jago tells the story of an 80 year old sea nomad called Rohani who has spent his life plying the waters of South East Asia’s Coral Triangle. The story is told entirely from Rohani’s perspective, against the spectacular backdrop of the Togian Islands, and recreates events that capture the turning points in his life, as a hunter and as a man. We were able to bring Rohani’s past experiences to life by working closely with his family and friends in the village where he grew up. These are the people you see representing Rohani in the film at various stages in his life. Story telling is a big part of Bajau culture, and a way of preserving traditions through generations, so everyone was very enthusiastic about what we were trying to do and brought lots of ideas of their own, especially Rohani. Although he had never had a camera pointed at him, it certainly wasn’t the first time he’d sat around telling stories. We were just lucky that he let us capture it on film.