Becoming Cousteau | National Geographic Documentary Films

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Becoming Cousteau

PG-13

October 22, 2021

Adventurer, filmmaker, inventor, author, unlikely celebrity and conservationist: For over four decades, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his explorations under the ocean became synonymous with a love of science and the natural world. As he learned to protect the environment, he brought the whole world with him, sounding alarms more than 50 years ago about the warming seas and our planet’s vulnerability. In BECOMING COUSTEAU, from National Geographic Documentary Films, two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker LIZ GARBUS takes an inside look at Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the 20th century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice — and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth.

Rated: PG-13
Release Date: October 22, 2021

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About the Filmmakers

  • Liz Garbus

    DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER

    Two-time Academy Award® nominee (“The Farm: Angola, USA,” “What Happened, Miss Simone?”), two-time Emmy® winner (Directing, Drama Series, and Directing, Nonfiction Programming), Peabody winner (“A Dangerous Son”), GRAMMY® nominee (“What Happened, Miss Simone?”), DGA nominee (“What Happened, Miss Simone?”) and BAFTA-nominated (“Reporting Trump’s First Year: The Fourth Estate”), director Liz Garbus is one of America’s most celebrated filmmakers, renowned for her documentary work and also for her breakthrough scripted debut. Her work has been featured in film festivals from Sundance to Telluride to Toronto to the New York Film festival and has appeared in theaters and across streaming platforms, as well as premium cable television. She is known for her propulsive, socially incisive storytelling across genres. From “The Farm: Angola, USA” to “What Happened, Miss Simone?” to “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark,” Garbus has created some of the most important documentaries of our time.

    Her series “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” premiered on HBO in June 2020. Garbus’ recent film “All In: The Fight for Democracy” premiered at the New York Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, drive-in screenings, theaters and digitally on Amazon Prime Video in September 2020. Her narrative feature debut, “Lost Girls,” premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and was released on Netflix and in theaters in March 2020. “The Fourth Estate,” for Showtime, was nominated for a 2018 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Her 2015 feature, Sundance opener, “What Happened, Miss Simone?,” a Netflix original, was nominated for a 2016 Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature and took home the Emmy Award for Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special.

    Other credits include “The Innocence Files” (Netflix, 2020), “Who Killed Garrett Phillips?” (HBO, 2019), “There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane” (HBO, 2011), “The Farm: Angola, USA” (AA nominee, 1998) and many others.

  • Dan Cogan

    PRODUCER

    Dan Cogan is one of the most prominent non-fiction producers working today. Both an Academy Award® (Icarus) and Emmy® Award (“The Apollo”) winner, Cogan founded Story Syndicate with Liz Garbus in 2019. Previously, he was the founding executive director of Impact Partners. He has produced more than 100 films and series, including “Icarus,” which won the 2018 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature; “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” which won the 2019 Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary; “The Cove,” which won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature; and “The Apollo,” which won the 2020 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary.

  • Mridu Chandra

    PRODUCER

    Mridu Chandra is a New York-based filmmaker and veteran producer of award-winning documentaries and narrative films that have premiered at the Sundance, SXSW and Hot Docs film festivals; aired on PBS, HBO, Hulu and Netflix; screened for members of U.S. Congress and the United Nations; and showcased at museums and film festivals worldwide. Her documentaries explore topics of civil rights and peace, gender and sexuality, environmental justice, and the law. Her credits include producing “Ask the Sexpert,” “Out in the Night” (selected to launch the U.N.’s Free & Equal Global Film Series), “CURED” (for PBS in fall 2020), “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin” (winner of over 20 international awards including the GLAAD Media Award), and “Electoral Dysfunction” (featured in a four-part The New York Times op-docs series and recipient of the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award). Her expertise as an archival media researcher and clearance specialist has additionally served numerous documentaries, narrative films, and Broadway productions, including “Whose Streets?,” “Shadow World,” “Steve Jobs” (directed by Danny Boyle), “Betrayal” (directed by Mike Nichols), “This Changes Everything” (based on the book by Naomi Klein) and “Regarding Susan Sontag” (recipient of the 2015 FOCAL International Award for Best Use of Archival Footage in an Arts Program). Prior to producing BECOMING COUSTEAU, she was the founding director (2016-2019) of IF/Then Shorts at Tribeca Film Institute, where she designed, launched and managed a new film fund and distribution initiative to support the professional development and increased visibility of filmmakers working regionally across the U.S. and around the world.

  • Evan Hayes

    PRODUCER

    Evan Hayes is an Academy Award®, BAFTA and Emmy® Award-winning producer and a partner at ACE Content, based in Los Angeles. He has worked on over 30 films or series across a range of budgets and genres throughout his career. Hayes is currently in post-production on “The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez,” about the legendary surfer and directed by Stacy Peralta. He is also in production on the scripted series “Maggie” for ABC and 20th Television and two as-yet-unannounced feature documentaries. Previously, Hayes produced Dawn Porter’s award-winning documentary “The Way I See It” about President Obama’s chief official White House photographer Pete Souza, co-produced by Laura Dern, for Focus Features and NBC News Studios.

    In 2019, Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for producing “Free Solo,” directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin for National Geographic Films. In addition to winning an Oscar®, the film also won a BAFTA Award, four Critics Choice Awards, three Cinema Eye Honors awards, the TIFF People’s Choice Award and seven Primetime Emmy Awards, among others. Before joining ACE, Hayes served as president of Production at Parkes+MacDonald/Image Nation. The company made five feature films and a number of television projects during his tenure, including the documentary “He Named Me Malala,” directed by Academy Award-winner Davis Guggenheim about Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai, and “The Circle,” starring Tom Hanks, Emma Watson and John Boyega. Prior to joining Parkes+MacDonald, Hayes served as president of Production at Story Mining & Supply Co., where he oversaw the Starz original series “Outlander” as well as the feature film “The Yellow Birds.” Hayes also spent eleven years at Working Title Films, where he worked as a producer or executive on such films as “Everest,” “Les Miserables,” “Contraband,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “State of Play,” “Frost/Nixon,” “A Serious Man,” “Burn After Reading,” “Hot Fuzz,” “Atonement,” “United 93” and “Senna.” Before joining Working Title, Hayes worked for producer Philip Steuer and Paramount Pictures’ Financial Planning and Creative Affairs departments. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Hayes is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. He is a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Producer’s Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 

REVIEWS

“Becoming Cousteau will well serve as a reminder and clarifier for those who remember him from their youth, and an invigorating introduction for those meeting him for the first time.”

DEADLINE, Todd McCarthy


“A wonderfully intimate portrait of the legendary oceanographer.”

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, Frank Scheck


“"Becoming Cousteau" is a delight of sensual images. You can almost feel the salt drying on everyone’s skin.”

THE PLAYLIST, Chris Barsanti


““Becoming Cousteau” is a dazzling dive into the depths of an undersea world.”

INDIEWIRE, Kristen Lopez

PHOTO GALLERY

  • Jacques Cousteau in a diving suit, 1972. (Credit: Yousuf Karsh)

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    Jacques Cousteau in a diving suit, 1972. (Credit: Yousuf Karsh)

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  • Jacques Cousteau in a diving suit, 1972. Cousteau added yellow stripes to his crew's diving suits so they would stand out more clearly in dark waters. (Credit: Yousuf Karsh)

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    Jacques Cousteau in a diving suit, 1972. Cousteau added yellow stripes to his crew's diving suits so they would stand out more clearly in dark waters. (Credit: Yousuf Karsh)

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  • Calypso crew members dive in dark waters while filming a scene for The Silent World. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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    Calypso crew members dive in dark waters while filming a scene for The Silent World. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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  • Jacques Cousteau aboard Calypso on a 1963 expedition in the Red Sea. (Credit: National Geographic)

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    Jacques Cousteau aboard Calypso on a 1963 expedition in the Red Sea. (Credit: National Geographic)

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  • Simone Cousteau, early diving pioneer and wife of Jacques Cousteau, dives near a grouper fish in the Indian Ocean. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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    Simone Cousteau, early diving pioneer and wife of Jacques Cousteau, dives near a grouper fish in the Indian Ocean. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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  • Jacques Cousteau (L) and a Calypso crew member (R) on deck during a 1955 expedition in the Indian Ocean. (Credit: National Geographic)

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    Jacques Cousteau (L) and a Calypso crew member (R) on deck during a 1955 expedition in the Indian Ocean. (Credit: National Geographic)

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  • Jacques Cousteau on expedition aboard the Calypso, 1960. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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    Jacques Cousteau on expedition aboard the Calypso, 1960. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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  • Simone Cousteau, the wife and partner of Jacques Cousteau, aboard Calypso in 1960. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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    Simone Cousteau, the wife and partner of Jacques Cousteau, aboard Calypso in 1960. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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  • Jacques Cousteau peers out of the porthole of SP-350 Denise diving saucer, 1960. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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    Jacques Cousteau peers out of the porthole of SP-350 Denise diving saucer, 1960. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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  • Jacques Cousteau (R) jokes with his collaborator and son, Philippe Cousteau, after a dive while filming an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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    Jacques Cousteau (R) jokes with his collaborator and son, Philippe Cousteau, after a dive while filming an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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  • Jacques Cousteau films an underwater shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea in 1943. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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    Jacques Cousteau films an underwater shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea in 1943. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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  • Jacques Cousteau (center) and Calypso crew member Andrè Laban (R) film a scene for The Silent World. Co-Director, Louis Malle (L), holds up a clapperboard. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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    Jacques Cousteau (center) and Calypso crew member Andrè Laban (R) film a scene for The Silent World. Co-Director, Louis Malle (L), holds up a clapperboard. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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  • Jacques Cousteau wears his iconic red diving cap aboard his ship Calypso, circa 1970s. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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    Jacques Cousteau wears his iconic red diving cap aboard his ship Calypso, circa 1970s. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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  • Jacques Cousteau (R) and his son Philippe Cousteau observe wildlife on the island of Isabela in 1975 while filming an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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    Jacques Cousteau (R) and his son Philippe Cousteau observe wildlife on the island of Isabela in 1975 while filming an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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  • Jacques Cousteau on a 1970 dive while filming an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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    Jacques Cousteau on a 1970 dive while filming an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. (Credit: The Cousteau Society)

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  • Jacques Cousteau dines with crew aboard Calypso during a 1955 expedition in the Indian Ocean. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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    Jacques Cousteau dines with crew aboard Calypso during a 1955 expedition in the Indian Ocean. (Credit: National Geographic/Luis Marden)

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  • Jacques Cousteau briefs Luis Marden before a dive with Aqualung. (Pierre Goupil/National Geographic)

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    Jacques Cousteau briefs Luis Marden before a dive with Aqualung. (Pierre Goupil/National Geographic)

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  • Underwater pioneer Jacques Cousteau guides his latest underwater research vessel for an expedition to study the Caribbean's teeming sea life. National Geographic sponsored the expedition. (Thomas J. Abercrombie/National Geographic)

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    Underwater pioneer Jacques Cousteau guides his latest underwater research vessel for an expedition to study the Caribbean's teeming sea life. National Geographic sponsored the expedition. (Thomas J. Abercrombie/National Geographic)

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  • Jacques Cousteau's inflatable ship skims across the Baie des Anges. (W. Edward Roscher/National Geographic)

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    Jacques Cousteau's inflatable ship skims across the Baie des Anges. (W. Edward Roscher/National Geographic)

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  • Jacques Cousteau oversees crew as they release anchors and cable. (Bates Littlehales/National Geographic)

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    Jacques Cousteau oversees crew as they release anchors and cable. (Bates Littlehales/National Geographic)

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  • Jacques Cousteau with camera approaches a resting sea lion in Lobos Island, Uruguay. (James P. Blair/National Geographic)

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    Jacques Cousteau with camera approaches a resting sea lion in Lobos Island, Uruguay. (James P. Blair/National Geographic)

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  • Jacques Cousteau, with his sons Jean-Michel and Phillipe. (Luis Marden/National Geographic)

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    Jacques Cousteau, with his sons Jean-Michel and Phillipe. (Luis Marden/National Geographic)

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    CREDITS

    National Geographic Documentary Films Presents A Story Syndicate Production In Association with The Cousteau Society & Ace Content

    Directed by Liz Garbus

    Produced by Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Mridu Chandra, Evan Hayes

    Written by Mark Monroe & Pax Wasserman

    Edited by Pax Wassermann

    Executive Producers Julie Gaither, Carolyn Bernstein, Ryan Harrington

    The Cousteau Society

    The Cousteau Society has been exploring the seas, establishing protected areas for endangered species and advocating for the silent world which cannot advocate for itself, since 1973.

    To learn more about Cousteau, visit the The Cousteau Society website.

    Cousteau Divers

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    The Cousteau Society

    Facebook

    Instagram

    Twitter

    The Cousteau Society

    The Cousteau Society has been exploring the seas, establishing protected areas for endangered species and advocating for the silent world which cannot advocate for itself, since 1973.

    To learn more about Cousteau, visit the The Cousteau Society website.

    Cousteau Divers

    Facebook

    Instagram

    Twitter


    The Cousteau Society

    Facebook

    Instagram

    Twitter