When the Sea Was Dark explores the quiet freedom found in the rituals we return to, and the relationship between people and place.

Set along Sydney's coastline in the hours before sunrise, the film follows runner Greta Truscott through her early morning routine. Moving from darkness into first light, it explores the contrast between physical effort and mental release, solitude and repetition, and the sense of freedom found in familiar surroundings.

Directed and photographed by Nick Bannehr, the project brings together film and still photography to tell the same story through different perspectives. The moving image captures the rhythm and progression of Greta's morning, while the photographs offer quieter observations of the people, landscape and moments in between.

Created in collaboration with cinematographer Patrick Wiecks, sound designer Rick Snowden and colourist Tim Wreyford, the film is part of Freedom Studies, an ongoing series exploring the people, places and rituals through which we find freedom.