She could hold her breath for over four minutes and dive deeper than most submarines.
This is the one where you find yourself holding your breath with the people on screen. Then you realize, they’ve trained their entire lives for this, and you barely made it through a yoga class.
Angie Abdou was the first to mention this one in Vanity Fair. Jenny Kleinberg Cooley, Matt Siben, and Larry Fraser all said they liked too.
Trailer for “The Deepest Breath”
You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up
- Alessia Zecchini blacks out just meters from the surface and has to be resuscitated with mouth-to-mouth—on camera.
- Stephen Keenan pulls Alessia to the surface during a dive through the Blue Hole’s 85-foot tunnel…but dies in the process.
- The Blue Hole in Dahab has taken more lives than Everest. It’s considered the world’s deadliest dive site.
Watch “The Deepest Breath”
You can watch “The Deepest Breath” on Netflix.
Ratings
- My Rating: 94/100
- IMDB: 7.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 93/100 (Users); 85/100 (Critics)
Director’s Note
Directed by Laura McGann. She builds this story with a mix of interviews, real-time rescue footage, and diver GoPros. The editing is intentionally disorienting at times—making you feel what it’s like to be 100+ feet underwater with zero air and no visibility.
Release Date
Premiered: Sundance Film Festival, 2023
Netflix Release: July 19, 2023
My Review of “The Deepest Breath”
The Setup
Italian freediver Alessia Zecchini wants to break world records in a sport where a single mistake can mean death. Freediving means going hundreds of feet down—without oxygen tanks. She meets Stephen Keenan, a former Irish backpacker who found a second life as a safety diver in Egypt’s freediving scene.
As Alessia prepares to dive through the Blue Hole’s Arch in Dahab, Stephen trains alongside her—until one dive changes everything.
More Highlights from the Doc
- The film includes live blackouts—freedivers fainting and needing emergency pulls to the surface while cameras roll.
- Stephen Keenan’s life is just as compelling as Alessia’s. A spiritual searcher, he spent years in West Africa before becoming the go-to safety diver at the Blue Hole.
- Alessia’s dad raised her like a champion athlete from age 6. She competed in swimming, gymnastics, and climbing—all before age 10.
- The final dive through the Arch is shown from multiple angles—topside cameras, underwater GoPros, and diver tracking data. The last seconds are harrowing.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- The Blue Hole has a memorial plaque right at its entrance. Names are etched into the rock wall as a warning to newcomers.
- The Arch is so disorienting that even seasoned divers misjudge their angles. There’s no natural light inside—just a blue void.
- Stephen’s final act—pushing Alessia toward the surface while running out of breath himself—happened after he returned from a short break from diving and wasn’t in peak form.
Wrap Up:
If you liked “Free Solo” or “The Rescue,” this fits right next to them on your queue. It’s gripping, tragic, and unforgettable.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc