Herbert Nitsch: Back from the Abyss

On 6 June 2012, the world's most successful free-diver Herbert Nitsch, who holds 33 world records across all of the free-diving disciplines, sought to improve his own world record in No Limit free-diving by another 100 feet, to 800 feet (244 m). Free-diving is the only sport on the planet that is done on one breath of air, and fully underwater. No Limit free-diving is the "king of all disciplines" in free-diving, as it ventures deeper than any other form of the sport. The record attempt off the Greek island of Santorini was to only be the beginning of his "1,000 feet" project. Despite painstaking preparation, on this early summer afternoon Nitsch experienced the worst-case scenario. Having fallen temporarily asleep underwater due to nitrogen narcosis, he omitted his essential in-dive decompression stop - after successfully reaching a depth of 831 feet (253 meters). Herbert incurred severe decompression sickness some ten minutes after the dive, resulting in several brain strokes in the temporal lobe and cerebellum. His initial prognosis was that he would remain a wheelchair bound, care dependent patient for life. For almost a year afterwards, there was no information whatsoever either about the accident or about Herbert Nitschs condition. However, this documentary accompanied him during his incredible recovery, removed from the public eye, and offers world exclusive documentary material on the months of preparation leading up to and including the life-threatening accident in Santorini, the difficult rehabilitation in specialized clinics and finally, Herbert's way back into the stillness of the underwater world of the sea.