Urk (2003)

Following a young sailor’s death at sea, the entire Urk community joins a rescue effort, grieving the loss of another young man. Urk fishermen spend weeks at a time away from home, leaving their families to anxiously await their return. As one fisherman puts it, "I never leave home without saying goodbye, because it would be hard on your mother if she didn't get that chance." Against the dramatic backdrop of Urk and the North Sea, intimate first-person stories create a powerful portrait of pride, faith, acceptance, and loss.