The Raft (2018) - documentary discussion

In the summer of 1973, a young international crew of six women and five men embarked on a close-quarters trip across the Atlantic from Spain to Mexico on a free-floating raft. Initiated by anthropologist Santiago Genovés, he proposed to use the group as guinea pigs in his investigation of the origins of violent conflict and sexual attraction. Contentious from the get-go, incorrectly labeled by the media as ‘The Sex Raft,’ the mission stayed afloat for 101 days.

More than forty years later, the surviving crew reunite to recollect their experience, illustrated with 16mm archival footage from the voyage. What results is a document of the thin line between science and cultism in the early ‘70s, a touching story of female camaraderie and, in the character of Genovés, a portrait of oblivious, toxic masculinity.

Available for free on Kanopy and Hoopla, depending on your location and library system.