Magellan’s Extraordinary Odyssey is a docu-fiction recounting the first circumnavigation of the Earth, launched in 1519 by Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan under the Spanish crown. Mixing dramatized scenes with historical analysis, the film follows Magellan and his multicultural crew as they embark on a perilous three-year voyage in search of a western route to the Spice Islands.

The journey reveals harsh realities: mutinies, hunger, extreme weather, unknown lands, and deadly encounters. Magellan’s determination pushes the expedition through the treacherous strait that now bears his name, opening a route to the Pacific—an ocean whose immensity and dangers devastate the fleet.

Magellan is killed in the Philippines, and it is Juan Sebastián Elcano who ultimately leads the last surviving ship, the Victoria, back to Spain in 1522, completing the first voyage around the world.

The documentary highlights not only the navigators’ courage and suffering but also the geopolitical stakes, the cultural encounters, and the profound impact this expedition had on humanity’s understanding of the planet.

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Director: François de Riberolles

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Cinematography: Maxime Beauquesne, François de Riberolles, Vincent Mathias

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Editing: Sabine Emiliani

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Voice-over:
Christian Gonon

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Original Music: Quentin Sirjacq, Nicolas Becker

special guest: Jorge Bezzera on percussions

mixed by Ludovic Palabaud

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Producers:
François Bertrand, Vincent Demarthe

Camera Lucida

ARTE France, Planète+

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2022