2025 Student Academy Award Winners Series Part 2: Tides of Life

In Part 2 of our Student Academy Award Winner series we break into the documentary category to review Tatiana McCabe's Tides of Life. See our full review below!

Tides of Life, dir. Tatiana McCabe

Jacques-Yves Cousteau is quintessential to documentary filmmaking and marine biology. After creating his diving suit, the multi-talented French man would document his dives, culminating in the 1956 film The Silent World, co-directed with Louis Malle. It won the 1956 Palme d'Or. Hence, Costeau was popularized through his cinematic presence and his marine work. "I'm the Cousteau of underdevelopment" is a sentence said by Richard Tesore, an Uruguayan preserver of aquatic life in Tatiana McCabe's Tides of Life. The director follows the founder of the NGO "S.O.S Rescate de Fauna Marina", which rescues penguins on the Uruguayan coast, and with the help of volunteers treats wounded animals in a rehabilitation facility he built.

In a conventional documentary structure, McCabe uses the subject's point of view on his own story to expand the film's narrative. In chronological order, the director documents Tesore's life, from the beginning of his journey with the NGO to this moment. Firstly, the young director draws the portrait of a charismatic figure; Richard who loves penguins. His cellphone rings, notifying him about a penguin alone on the coast, and he promptly rescues it. Hence, the most outstanding virtue of Tides of Life is extracting the subject's passion and transporting it to the screen. McCabe films Richard like the fun uncle that most families have, the one who talks loudly and seems intimidating, but is the first to engage in something crucial. In a funny sequence, Richard wears a penguin costume while teaching a group of children about the preservation of aquatic life. What is the best manner of teaching pupils than engaging them in a fun didactic form? The director shows Tesore's commitment to the environmental cause, as he participates in these events dressed as a penguin and making his signature penguin honking noises. 

Despite a few impromptu cuts that break the rhythm for a while, the University of the West of England, Bristol alum excels in how she chooses the moments of Tesore's life. McCabe efficiently portrays thirty-five years of work in less than fifteen minutes. It is a fascinating glimpse into the lifework of an activist in the small country of Uruguay, located in the southeastern corner of South America. The director's research is adequate in showcasing a charismatic figure doing relevant work in an urgent area. In the ongoing debates about the lack of sufficient investments in climate change policies and the discrediting of trustworthy reports about the issue by conspiracy theorists and deniers, works like Tesore's are crucial in educating the upcoming generation of leaders. 

In this sense, Tatiana McCabe delivers a fascinating portrait of a charismatic NGO founder in Richard Tesore's story in her documentary short, Tides of Life. It is a succinct and efficacious overview of his life and work with the "S.O.S Rescate de Fauna Marina", a relevant organization that helps penguins in migration on the coast of Uruguay. Furthermore, Tides of Life marks the first time a film from the University of the West of the England has received a Student Academy Award. Tatiana McCabe won the award for Best Documentary, making the film is officially eligible for the Best Documentary Short category at the 98th Academy Awards.

Review by: Pedro Lima