Part documentary, part floating meditation, Women and the Wind is the result of a bold voyage across the North Atlantic aboard Mara Noka, a 50-year-old wooden catamaran captained by Kiana Weltzien. This wasn’t a regatta or a delivery. It was a journey of intent—of seeking answers, connection, and truth—not only in the swirling eddies of the Gulf Stream but within the lives and bodies of the three women who undertook it.
Launched publicly three years to the day after they departed North Carolina on 27 June 2022, the film is now streaming online for a limited 30-day window until 27 July 2025. It’s a rare opportunity to step inside a project that is equal parts expedition, environmental advocacy, and raw female storytelling.
The vessel: Mara Noka and the birth of the project
Mara Noka is no ordinary yacht. She’s a modern Polynesian double-canoe design—deeply symbolic and physically demanding. Kiana Weltzien, an American who left her real estate career to pursue a sea life, first acquired her in 2018. With only a few months of sailing under her belt, she crossed oceans solo. But Women and the Wind marked her first major voyage with a crew.
The idea germinated in the Canary Islands in 2020, when Kiana met Danish illustrator and ocean conservationist Lærke Heilmann. With shared concerns over plastic pollution and a thirst for purpose-driven adventure, the two set out to bring a female-led environmental mission to life.
Initially, their plan was clear: to follow the trail of plastic debris across the Atlantic, tracking how waste—fishing nets, bottles, bags—drifts from the Americas to Europe via the Gulf Stream. But the sea had other plans. As the weeks unfolded, what began as a project about pollution evolved into something far more personal—and far more powerful.
The voyage: plastic, tempests, and deep waters
Joining the project was Dominican filmmaker Alizé Jireh, who had never sailed before but had long dreamed of doing so. She came aboard just months before departure, having been invited by Kiana over Instagram. What Alizé captured over 30 days at sea is not a typical sailing documentary.
Her lens is immersive and intimate—storm-swept decks, breathless calms, moonlit confessions, and wide-angle meditations on water and womanhood. The camera never stops moving, much like the sea. The Atlantic becomes a character in its own right—by turns gentle and raging, mirroring the emotional journey of the crew.
The film’s tone is both ethereal and unflinching. Alizé’s cinematography is conceptual yet grounded. It reflects not just the physical experience of ocean sailing, but the psychological one—when you’re surrounded by water, without reprieve, there’s no escaping yourself or your shipmates.
“There’s something about a month at sea that peels everything back,” Kiana writes in a reflective newsletter. “We faced more obstacles than I can count—and in many ways, choosing to self-distribute this film is one more act of faith.”
Not the film they planned—something better
The documentary they set out to make—about ocean plastic—was not the film that emerged. Instead, Women and the Wind became a story of femininity in its full force: the cyclical nature of the moon, the deep strength found in vulnerability, and the resilience required to navigate both physical and emotional storms.
Despite the boatyard delays, cancelled crewmates, lost funding, and pandemic-era challenges, the film was completed with no studio backing and no commercial compromise. It is grassroots filmmaking at its purest—shot, edited, and distributed outside the traditional system.
With no studio intermediaries, the team opted for a community-led release through Kinema. The film is available now until 27 July 2025, as a one-month-only event. This limited window is intentional. It’s not about viral reach; it’s about deep connection.
A case study in purpose-driven sailing
For Boating New Zealand readers, Women and the Wind may not be a conventional tale of boat tests or race results, but it is undeniably a sailing story. It is about seaworthiness—not just of vessels, but of people. It’s about the endurance and elasticity of the human spirit in a confined and ever-moving space.
This film should resonate with anyone who has stared at the horizon and asked, “What am I doing here?” It’s a reminder that sometimes the journey is the message. And that being a skipper isn’t always about having answers, but about trusting your compass—even when the stars disappear.
As Kiana reflects, “We made this film for you—and we hope you’ll join us on board.”
Streaming details
Women and the Wind is available to watch online through Kinema from 27 June to 27 July 2025. This is a limited, self-distributed release and will not be available on mainstream platforms.
Watch the film: Kinema
For more about the Women and the Wind Foundation, the ongoing voyages of Mara Noka, or upcoming screenings, visit their official site or follow their channels on Instagram.
