In March 2007, Dutch adventurer Ralph Tuijn set out to become the first person to row solo and unassisted across the Pacific. Leaving his wife and daughter behind for more than nine months, he departed Callao, Peru into the teeth of La Niña, a broken water-maker, and rotting provisions, then endured shark strikes on his 9mm-thin plywood boat, lightning storms, and a shipwreck. 281 Days is the record of that ordeal.

Why This Film Matters: Solo ocean rowing strips adventure down to its rawest form, one person, one boat, and an ocean that does not care. Tuijn's crossing is a study in endurance and the strange arithmetic of leaving everything you love to chase a horizon, a reminder of how far human resolve can be pushed before it breaks.