Ahoy! Welcome aboard.

Life on the Water creators, Oleg Harencar and Kat Lusher in Richardson Bay, Sausalito, CA. (photo: M. Krupiievskyi)

Some of you may be new here, and since we've just updated our website, we're feeling a sense of newness ourselves — so an introduction is in order. For those who have been with us from the start, thank you for your support in all of its forms. It means the world to us.

It started as an idea to make one small film about a person we felt had something to teach us, but as each piece came together, we realized the portraits do something more than that: they reveal deep, personal things about ourselves.

It began in 2012. Oleg was a liveaboard on his 47-foot, 1957 Ed Monk wooden trawler in the Sausalito Yacht Harbor, and Kat had an apartment on the iconic Sausalito hill with a killer view of Richardson Bay. As anyone who lives in a marina knows it's nearly impossible not to stop and chat with the neighbors on the dock — and ours was quite the cast of characters living life on the water. These were our people.

Oleg, a filmmaker and storyteller, quickly started thinking about filming these individuals and their stories. He had learned from the best — a group of documentary giants. His mentor was the award-winning filmmaker James Blue, best known for The March (1964), his documentary of the 1963 March on Washington, which captured Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. (Maybe someday someone will make a documentary about Oleg's life?) Kat's experience and skills as a graphic designer would prove invaluable in getting our films recognized. Don Zimmer came on board as a producer and musician, providing music for our soundtracks.

The first film was about Ron MacAnnan, proud owner of Pursuit. He was a reluctant subject with a reputation for being a curmudgeon — but what a fantastic storyteller he turned out to be! The film was well received at every venue we screened it and got a sense that we were onto something. Oleg shares more insights about Ron here, from the "Behind the Scenes" series.

We've recently uploaded several films to our YouTube channel and we are blown away by the number of views and glowing comments people leave. It's wonderful to see so many people resonating with our films. Have a look and let us know what you think!

Fourteen years and seven films later (our seventh premieres on October 22 — more info here), we are still passionate about what we do. Life on the Water films can touch the human spirit, with themes so universal that anyone can relate to them. One of the myriad of reasons we love making films is the celebratory energy that ignites during our screening events. We are thrilled that so many people resonate with these stories. Making these films matter.