Liz Garbus–a prolific documentarian with an acclaimed body of work which includes the Oscar-nominated features The Farm: Angola, USA and What Happened Miss Simone?–found a kindred filmmaking spirit in Jacques Cousteau, the late, great explorer/adventurer known for shedding light on the underwater universe. Cousteau was also well ahead of his time with his dedication to raising awareness of the pressing need to protect our oceans from climate change.
Garbus–whose documentary Becoming Cousteau (National Geographic) was released theatrically a couple of weeks ago and is slated for a November 24th streaming debut on Disney+–didn’t know all that much about her protagonist’s passion for film. But once she delved deeper into Cousteau’s life as the film's director/producer, Garbus strongly identified with what she described as his “desire to push boundaries,” to move outside his comfort zone while continuing “to innovate and expand his filmmaking language.”
Cousteau had a penchant for filmmaking which he showed early on during his service in World War II lensing underwater shipwrecks which led to a short titled Épaves (1946) that premiered at Cannes and put him on the documentary map. However, Cousteau disliked the term “documentary” and preferred to describe his work as “adventure films.” Curiosity and a love of adventure fueled Cousteau’s cinematic pursuits as he built a waterproof housing for a movie camera to film underwater. As a Naval lieutenant, Cousteau teamed with engineer Emile Gagnan to invent the Aqualung, an autonomous breathing apparatus that enabled divers to descend underwater without being tethered to tubes, diving bells or helmeted suits. This helped usher deep-sea photography into a new era.
Cousteau went on to win three Oscars–for the feature documentary The Silent World in 1957, which he and Louis Malle directed; the live-action short The Golden Fish in 1960, which Cousteau produced; and World Without Sun in 1965, a Cousteau directed feature doc.
Additionally Cousteau did some remarkable home movies over the years, capturing personal moments of significance–which Garbus incorporated into her documentary–including the first time he saw Simone Melchior whom he married in 1937.
Garbus applied her own innate curiosity, akin to that of Cousteau, to unearth insights into the man, his sense of purpose, coping with personal tragedy (the death of a son, oceanographer Philippe, in a seaplane crash) and being sustained by an all-consuming and abiding love of Mother Nature. Garbus also brings to the fore an unsung hero, Cousteau’s first wife, the alluded to Simone Melchior Cousteau, who served in many respects as the co-captain of the Calypso, a former Royal Navy mine-sweeper that was converted into a mobile oceanography lab. The ship became a hub of discovery and adventure that contributed significantly to the Cousteau legacy.
Melchior Cousteau loved the sea but couldn’t easily follow in her family lineage that included sailors and Naval officers. During that era, such opportunities weren’t open to women. So she wound up marrying into an ocean life, playing a pivotal role in her husband’s exploration and innovation. This was among the happy discoveries that Garbus made, sharing in Becoming Cousteau the accomplishments of Melchior Cousteau–a pioneering scuba diver and aquanaut–who kept an intentionally low profile for much of her life.
Building trust, chronicling relevance
Among the challenges faced by Garbus, who began developing the documentary in 2015, was gaining the trust of the Cousteau family. It took years for her to gain approval from the Cousteau Society and his estate for access to much needed archives, key people and other resources. Cousteau’s second wife, Francine Cousteau, and their two children, Pierre Yves and Dianne, were executive producers on Becoming Cousteau. Besides the late Philippe, Jacques Cousteau had another son, Jean-Michel, from his first marriage. Becoming Cousteau is presented by National Geographic Documentary Films and is a Story Syndicate production in association with The Cousteau Society & Ace Content as well as with Diamond Docs.
While it was tricky to navigate a path through the complexity and concerns of the Cousteau estate–which like all famous estates is very protective of the legacy entrusted to them–Garbus persisted, spurred on as she learned more about Jacques Cousteau, motivated to do justice to the story of a man who brought the beauty and wonder of the ocean to so many, capturing the imagination of audiences worldwide.
While Cousteau’s TV work–which garnered assorted Emmy nominations, earning a Primetime Award win and induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987–became darker, more stark and serious in his later years, these efforts today are regarded as being on the informed cutting edge as he expressed concern for our environment, noting that many countries seem to believe the myth that the seas are inexhaustible resources. At a famed 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro–in which he was the star attraction among world leaders–Cousteau affirmed that we cannot jeopardize future generations, our children and their children, by ignoring environmental crises, including the impact of climate change. Cousteau and his crew witnessed catastrophic changes firsthand–including warm sea waters, dying coral reefs and glaciers cracking.
Fast forward to today as the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aka COP26, in Glasgow is about to wrap, and Cousteau’s message takes on even greater urgency. “How ardent he was, how clear his expression of urgency was,” said Garbus. “He talked about throwing blank checks at future generations–that was directed at my generation and we failed. Here we are with more blank checks for our children. To push the metaphor further, Earth cannot withstand all these withdrawals. It is time to replenish.”
Garbus observed that in listening to Cousteau’s words in 1992, he seemed to feel somewhat hopeful that we could preserve and protect our environment. He had faith in our capacity to problem solve and innovate.
Now, though, we have drawn much closer to the 11th hour. Cousteau’s warning is even more alarming today and it remains to be seen if his faith will prove well founded.
Garbus observed that “the future of our species, and the survival of huge swaths of biodiversity on the planet will depend on innovation in the spirit of Cousteau.”
Emmy parallel
Like Cousteau, Garbus is a multiple Emmy nominee. She has received seven nods over the years, winning twice–for Outstanding Nonfiction Special in 2007 on the basis of Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, and in 2016 for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special) for What Happened, Miss Simone? The latter documentary chronicling the life of the late legendary recording artist and social activist Nina Simone was a RadicalMedia production. (RadicalMedia also represents Garbus as a director in the commercialmaking/branded content arena.)
Garbus’ directorial chops have been recognized in the documentary and narrative fields. On the former score, for instance, she was nominated for a DGA Award for What Happened, Miss Simone? And this year she earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series on the strength of “The Wilderness” episode of The Handmaid’s Tale.
