Storyville Catch up, Against the Tide on BBC 4

Storyville

Against the Tide

Indian fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh are Kolis, the ancient indigenous fishing community of Bombay. \n\nRakesh has inherited a boat and the knowledge of catching fish from his father. Like a typical Koli fisherman, he casts his nets in the creeks and shallow waters of the sea. His catch is small, and so is his income, but he somehow manages to sustain his family of his mother, his wife and their small baby. \n\nRakesh’s best friend, Ganesh, is from a wealthier Koli family. He obtained a degree in finance from Scotland and returned to Bombay to run a commercial fishing boat with a crew. With bigger players using illegal fluorescent lights to catch bigger hauls deep-sea fishing, Ganesh is finding it hard to maintain his middle-class lifestyle and status, so he borrows money to buy florescent lights and a bigger crew, and they go on a risk-it-all deep-sea fishing trip. Meanwhile, Rakesh’s baby son becomes ill, and he ends up having to sell his father’s boat to pay for the treatment. \n\nThis intimate, beautifully shot observational documentary follows Ganesh as he risks his family’s wealth while Rakesh tries to help his son and buy a new boat so he can return to his ancient way of fishing. Above all, the film is a beautiful portrait of an unlikely friendship, forged in the reality of overfishing, new technology and their indigenous traditional ways of life.

Source: BBC 4

Most recent episodes of Storyville

Storyville

The Farthest: Voyager's Interstellar Journey

Twelve billion miles away a tiny spaceship is leaving our solar system and entering the void of deep space. It is the first human-made object ever to do so. Slowly dying within ...

07-07-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Dogs Of War

A Storyville documentary that tells the untold story of a seemingly ordinary Englishman who spent more than 40 years as a mercenary, fighting other people’s wars for money ...

28-04-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Speechless: 2. The Pendulum Swings

This two-part documentary is a personal journey by award-winning film-maker Ric Esther Bienstock that delves into the heart of the culture wars and freedom of speech conversatio ...

21-04-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Speechless: 1. The New Campus Revolution

This two-part documentary is a personal journey by award-winning film-maker Ric Esther Bienstock that delves into the heart of the culture wars and freedom of speech conversatio ...

14-04-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

André Is An Idiot

A Storyville documentary that follows André, who, despite receiving a terminal diagnosis, is determined to die with humour, curiosity and defiance.

07-04-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Three Dads And A Baby

This intimate and pioneering documentary explores a three-way relationship and a radically different approach to fatherhood. In Norway, trans people were subjected to forced ste ...

31-03-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Khartoum

A Storyville documentary, set against the backdrop of conflict in Sudan, that follows five Khartoum residents as they search for freedom amid revolution and war.

24-03-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Portrait Of A Confused Father

Filmed over more than 20 years, this deeply personal documentary charts an extraordinary father–son relationship that takes an unexpected and tragic turn.\n\nNorwegian fil ...

17-03-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Mistress Dispeller

An intimate and candid film that follows the course of an extramarital affair in modern China from the perspectives of the couple, the mistress and the woman hired to save the m ...

10-03-2026

BBC 4

All episodes

Storyville

Red Light To Limelight

In a red-light district of Kolkata, a group of women reclaim their voices through the power of storytelling.\n\nGiven unprecedented access, this film follows Rabin, Bilkis, Afsa ...

03-03-2026

BBC 4

All episodes