Wangany Mala follows the journey of young Muslim woman Nirmala as she works on the construction of a traditional pinisi boat and learns to sail, all while navigating her faith and family expectations.

The oceans are typically and correctly viewed as a marine habitat. But they are much more than that. They are a workplace, a metaphor, an escape, a prison, a grocery store, a trash can, a cemetery, a bonanza, a tinderbox, an organ, a highway, a depot, a window, an emergency, and, above all, an opportunity

In essence, we’re just a conceited, naked ape. In our minds we’re some sort of “divine legend” We can walk around the earth deciding who will live and who will die and what will be destroyed and what will be saved.

What I do know is that we shouldn’t be dismissing this as an “American” issue. With acute problems of housing affordability, spiralling inflation, and murmurs of recession it’s not beyond the realms of possibility, that this story repeats on Pittwater, Hobsons Bay or Middle Harbour in the near future.