Lottery of the Sea

In The Lottery of the Sea, an essay in the form of a documentary, Allan Sekula takes us on a journey to some of the ports and coastlines of countries like Japan, Panama, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States between the years 2001 and 2003, jumping backwards and forwards in time. From his position as observer and narrator, he proposes different definitions of globalization and risk while confronting us with events like the crisis of the Prestige off the coast of Muxía, life on the Panama canal, the protests against the World Bank in Barcelona and the demonstrations against the Iraq War in New York. Like maritime traffic, the film advances with a formally uneven rhythm toward a place where unexpected questions are asked. For instance, is it possible to regulate the waves or harvest the sea? And what does it mean to be a maritime nation?