A renowned freediving instructor based in Campbell River is a lead character in a documentary about a competitive freediving athlete confronting a near-death experience while also grappling with generational trauma.
The feature-length documentary, 7 Beats Per Minute, created by award-winning Mongol-Chinese Canadian filmmaker Yuqi Kang, follows freediving champion Jessea Lu after she blacked out and was lifeless for four minutes during a world-record diving attempt. The documentary captures Lu's journey to return to the site of her brush with death where she also faces the traumas of her past.
Freediving guru Kirk Krack, known for training the cast and crew of James Cameron's Avatar 2, runs a freediving program in Campbell River but frequently travels to tropical locations to provide world-class freediving instruction. He met Lu in Hawaii 15 years ago when she took his scientific freediving course. She enroled in several other courses Krack taught, later qualifying as an instructor and launching her career as a champion freediver. She has won 15 gold medals in international competitions.
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Krack said he and Lu became great friends as she trained. In the documentary, he shares insights into the challenges of freediving in interviews conducted at Stories Beach near Campbell River.
During the filmmaking process, the director, Kang, and Lu develop an intense bond as she followed Lu through rigorous training and into the ocean as they explore their shared vulnerabilities. The pair faces their past traumas, discovering that self-trust – and the ability to trust others – is a complex yet vital aspect of the healing process, according to a synopsis about the documentary.
Throughout this shared journey, oceans and seas symbolize a path to healing for both women. It was the ocean's mystery and the human connection to it that initially drew her to the topic of freediving, said Kang, who is based in Vancouver.
While researching the documentary, Kang said she drew inspiration from the idea that all life originated from the oceans. For many freedivers, plunging to these depths in the deep sea – where Lu can dive beyond 90 metres on a single breath – symbolizes a homecoming. "The body returns to the sea almost like your soul returns to your home," Kang explained. This connection represents the ocean's healing qualities, which serves as a central theme in the documentary.
Krack told the Mirror he can relate to this theme. He noted many freedivers share this bond.
"Humans have very much an ingrained connection to the ocean simply because we are born of the oceans," said Krack, referring to the scientific theory that humans evolved from aquatic mammals. "There are all these amazing properties of water – and us being 70 per cent water and a little bit more, almost like the surface of the earth is 70 per cent water – we mimic the earth in how the lifeblood for both the earth, and for us, is water. So, it completely makes sense that water has healing properties for us because it is ultimately like going back into your mother's arms and being soothed."
7 Beats Per Minute was screened at the 2025 Victoria Film Festival on Feb. 11.
