In the summer of 1615, under the orders of Pedro de Aguirre, Esteban de Telleri and Martín de Villafranca, three Basque whales landed on the Icelandic coast. Martin was, at age 27, the youngest and most powerful captain in the world. He also knew his courage and his skill in hunting. When they were about to embark on the return journey, the strong sea sank the Basque whalers. During the summer, the generous hunting allowed good reception among local farmers and farmers, but the fall brought cold. Hunger and hunger have confronted the locals: the sailors and pastors switched from exchange to theft, and before winter the adventure became a tragedy.

It is a documentary aimed at investigating the tragedy of Basque whalers that occurred almost four hundred years ago. A story without black or white, in a village that has eleven words to say white. Who were those whalers? Where are your boats sunk? How did they live in the last few days fleeing the aggressors? Going through your last journey, analyzing historical data and exploring submarines for boat searching, you will try to answer these questions.

The documentary follows two strands that intertwine with each other: on the one hand, the history of the search for researchers who immerse themselves in history. Archaeologists Ander Arrese and BEÑAT Iturrioz, and documentalist Eñaut Tolosa, will travel to Iceland in search of the ruins of Basque whales. There, the whalers will follow the path taken in the last days before their death, search for submerged boats, search for archaeological remains of the whalers, explore documents and have interviews with experts from the area: fishermen, archaeologists, linguists, ethnographers, divers.

On the other hand, the narration of the historical event has been represented through animation with cartoons.

Historical characters

Martin de Villafanca, captain. It was Donostiarra. He had been appointed to succeed another captain, so he did not have the approval of the crew. He was bold and very skillful with the harpoon. On the eve of this unfortunate fall, on 19 September 1615, Martin had a discussion with Jon Grimsson, the priest of Arnes about a treatment and threatened to hang him from his neck. Some say that it was that fact that caused the hunt against the Basques.

Ari Magnusson, the sheriff. Good family. He allowed the Basques to hunt in Icelandic waters and it was he who condemned to death and arranged the troop to capture them. Perhaps in order to hide the fishing permit.

Jon “Laerdi” Gudmunsson, self-taught thinker and magician. The most reliable narrator of what happened. He himself made a critical reading of the facts, questioning the cruel behaviour of his fellow citizens.

Peter, pilot. The second on Martin's boat mistrusted his captain. Jon Laerdi and Peter became good friends through a very basic communication. He guessed that the journey would have a tragic end.