Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, Divers

‘Years ago, I saw a still image of a high diver suspended mid-flight – caught between the platform and water below,’ says photographer and director Geordie Wood. It was an image that stayed with him, leading him from photography to his first film, Divers. ‘Something in the expression on their face – a kind of ecstatic surrender – lodged in my mind and never left. It was so beautiful but also perilous. When I began thinking seriously about making a short film, that image came back to me, and I started searching for a place where divers train.’

And so was conceived the short, seven-minute film Divers, which premiered at Visions du Réel in Nyon, Switzerland, as part of the festival’s International Medium Length & Short Film Competition. It considers the training required at elite high-diving camp in Fort Lauderdale, observing athletes as they prepare to launch themselves from one of the tallest diving boards in the world.

Wood was invited to visit the tower by a former professional diver named Steve LoBue, whom he had come across in his research. ‘I’d seen old footage of Steve – in one dive, he clipped his head on the platform while exiting from 27m, then somehow reoriented like a cat in mid-air and landed feet-first,’ says Wood. ‘It was incredible. I was especially drawn to the fact that his tower was outdoors, set against the open blue sky and sun – something I felt the film needed. Steve kindly invited me to visit the tower. When I did, I told him I was interested in diving as a way to explore fear and the noise of the mind. Those themes resonated with him, and he suggested I return to shoot during a training camp over the winter – a time when athletes from around the world would be training together.’

The juxtaposition of strength and vulnerability, grace and chance, is something Wood unpicks in his film. His first outing in the medium felt ‘exhilarating and disorientating’, he says. Being used to creating visual landscapes, he found the format wholly new.

‘The concept itself was also a leap of faith. We weren’t following a single subject or a traditional narrative arc. I wanted the piece to sit somewhere in-between a gallery wall and a traditional documentary. There’s no voiceover in the film, no dialogue to anchor the viewer – so the process became about collecting material, like gathering raw clay.

‘I wrote a script of sorts, but it was more a guide for what to capture than a specific blueprint for what the film would become. The real shape emerged later, through editing and specifically by trimming away everything that felt unnecessary. The goal was to let the imagery speak for itself and arrive at something that felt effortless, even if it was anything but.’

As in his photography work, Wood made a conscious effort to retain total control over the project, keeping his team small and ensuring he oversaw every element. ‘I didn’t want to feel comfortable. I knew I was stepping into unfamiliar territory, and staying hands-on felt like the only real way to learn. It was scary – I found the story, financed the film, assembled the team, and carried both the logistics and creative. I know this isn’t a feature film, and I’m still quite young in this space – but for me, this was a huge step. I learned every part of the filmmaking process intimately through making this one project, and I’m proud of that. I carry those lessons with me now – not just technically, but in a deeper sense of knowing how I want to work, and having the confidence to approach whatever comes next.’

It is a deeply personal project. In scrutinising being a perfectionist, Wood was forced to confront his own process. ‘The downside of being a perfectionist – or someone who craves control in their creative work – is that your mind rarely rests. There’s a constant hum of evaluation, comparison, refinement. And while perfectionism can drive high standards, it’s also built on a foundation of fear and a need to manage outcomes. In recent years, I’ve been actively trying to invite more presence and flow into my life – to balance my instinct for control with a deeper sense of trust and surrender.

‘In that way, diving became a kind of metaphor. I saw in these athletes – launching themselves into open space, exposed and in motion – something I was craving for myself. That feeling of pure presence, of being fully in the moment, is rare. I’ve touched it a handful of times in my life, and I’m always trying to find my way back. Making this film was, in many ways, a mirror of that act: preparing carefully, walking to the edge, and then leaping – not knowing exactly what the outcome would be, but jumping in faith nonetheless.’

geordiewood.com

Trailer | Divers | Geordie Wood - YouTube

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