Deep and dangerous — once upon a time, a group of gung-ho thrill seekers found an underwater world off Maui, Hawaii, that 99 percent of divers will never experience. The recently released documentary Black Coral retells the stories of the men who would go to great depths to retrieve the valuable coral, creating a tight-knit group and huge risks at the same time.

The documentary is often dramatic and sometimes poignant, painting a picture of what these divers dealt with — intense animal encounters, nitrogen narcosis, decompression sickness and the loss of fellow divers — as they chased the thrill of deep diving and the monetary reward of harvesting black coral. In-depth interviews give the viewer a taste of the divers’ personalities and dramatic re-enactments bring the whole operation to life. While discussing controversial diving practices, the film intrigues, entertains and informs while leaving recreational divers with an appreciation for their training and safety equipment.

Brothers Jedd (director), Brett (producer) and Todd (dive coordinator) Winn teamed up to make the 73-minute film after years of breaking into the close-knit group of black coral divers. Scuba lovers will appreciate the fact that the dive scenes were mainly filmed off the coast of Hawaii, and the film crew dived as deep as 300 feet on rebreathers for some of the shots.

For more information on the documentary, or to order a physical or digital copy, visit blackcoralmovie.com.