LIKE EXPLORING A NEW PLANET
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London’s Last Wilderness is the visual experience of an explorer landing on an undiscovered planet.
Every shot in the film was captured using truthful documentary techniques—no retakes, no setups. What you see happened once, and only once. Like the first Europeans in the Amazon or astronauts orbiting the moon, there was no time for rehearsals or scripted reflections. The camera moved with the explorer—fast, focused, in the moment. A mere 30 miles crow's flight from Piccadilly Circus lies a place London largely ignores: the Greater Thames Estuary. It's an ecological and cosmological force hiding in plain sight. One of its secrets is scale. The estuary rivals London in size. To truly cover it, you need years — exploring north and south banks. From land, sea and sky. Beyond the coast lies a maze of creeks and shifting islands, shaped by rivers and tides that change everything, twice a day. Half the terrain vanishes and reappears with the North Sea. No two days are the same. No tide repeats. To be honest with this place, you have to film it all. Across four seasons, in all weather, under every tidal condition. Nothing could be skipped. Nothing faked. The film has no presenters. This is not exactly a human story. EARLY COMMENTS "I absolutely love this film" Mensun Bound, explorer. "I am stunned" Eric Doctorow, CEO Random Media. "It is beautiful as it is terrifying.." Jonathan Kempster, podcaster. THE FILM IN NUMBERS Duration: 60'. Preparation, filming and postproduction time: 4 years. Crew and support personnel in total: 40. Number of vessels involved in the filming: 8. 
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From land, sea 
Towards Southend Pier
Towards Redsands
Maunsell Forts
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↓ The three minute clip ↓
For the full 60' version please get in contact.
Maunsell Forts and London Array
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The Last Wilderness of London: A Shamanic Journey into the Thames Estuary
Pablo Behrens, director and producer, once navigated the wild waters of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. That experience sparked a question: could the Thames river (known through the ages for its bucolic elegance or bustling urbanity) have a wild side too? PABLO BEHRENS ON LONDON'S LAST WILDERNESS “I wanted to find out if the Thames had a wild profile somewhere,” says Behrens. “We all know the 'civilised' side. But does it still have the same mojo as the mighty Amazon?” For Behrens, a wild river isn’t just scenic. - it dominates its surroundings, sets the rules and reminds humans who's in charge. That’s what he went looking for in the Thames Estuary. “If London's Last Wilderness had just recorded the landscape, it would’ve failed,” he says. “I had to take the viewer into a world unlike any other stretch of the Thames.” Behrens set out to capture what most cameras can’t: the river’s raw, unpredictable essence. That meant tracking tides, chasing storms and filming through sun and squall alike. The team documented named storms like Franklin, Noa, and Ciara from multiple sites, each offering a glimpse into the river’s shifting moods. “The biggest challenge was exploring every creek, mudflat and edge of the estuary,” he explains. “It took time. Not everything made it into the film—some shots were incredibly hard to get, but didn’t make the cut.” The real goal was to reveal what Behrens calls the “shamanic essence” of the estuary. Joseph Conrad came closest to capturing it in words. We use some of his text in the film. But even then, there were days I came back with nothing to show for it.” The turning point came when he realized he wasn’t just filming a river. “I had to discover a new world. A new planet. That was my eureka moment.” The result is a wake-up call—not just for the region, but for any place where nature is under siege. “I’ve seen many great documentaries,” says Behrens, “but they stop short of the edge. I wanted to go beyond.” Beneath the surface of the estuary lies a different Thames; unpredictable, dangerous and steeped in history. Over 700 shipwrecks rest in its sandbars and mudflats. Its civilised facade hides a wild, impenetrable core. It’s also a place of rare ecological beauty. Once the gateway to London, the estuary was a lifeline for sailors, stevedores and dockers. Even now, it resists roads and sprawl. The sea still rules here. But that could change. As housing and development push outward, the estuary’s fragile edges face new threats. Storms and rising tides don’t wait. They strike without warning. And they will again. This isn’t about halting progress or freezing ports. It’s about balance. It’s about protecting what Behrens calls “the last wilderness of London” before it’s too late. Now is the time to act. The Viewer 
Two Tree Island and Leigh Creek at high tide
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Stangate Creek
Leigh Creek
The lead sailboat at Queenborough Harbour
Docklands, London.
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Schedule of filming, research and geographical targets.
Film duration: 60'. Preproduction: 2019. Principal photography began in September of this year for a month. During 2020 and 2021 production stopped due to pandemic. Filming continued 2022, 2023 and 2024. Postproduction: November 2024 till May 2025. Current state: Preparing film for distribution. Visuals. A creative approach to the Greater Thames Estuary. The issues:
Areas of interest. Inner and outer Thames Estuary north and south, including • The Swale canal; rivers Medway, Crouch, Rouch, Blackwater; • Islands of Canvey, Grain, Sheppey, Foulness, Mersea; • Creeks of Benfleet, Yantley, Hadleigh, Leigh, Havengore, Queenborough. • Ports of Sheerness, DP World (Gateway), Old Victoria. • Regions of Whitstable, Tankerton, Burnham-on-Crouch, Faversham, Sheerness, Queenborogh, Gillingham, Southend-on-Sea, Tollesbury, Paglesham.. • Forts of Hadleigh, Darnell, Maunsell and Tilbury. • And, of course, the Thames Estuary itself. All in an exhilarating one hour programme of exploration and discovery from land, sea and air probably never produced before. We hope we did this outstanding region justice. |
Immersing the viewer into an emotional connection with the natural elements” 
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Like exploring an undiscovered planet”
Director and producer:
Pablo Behrens.
Pablo Behrens.
Pablo Behrens has travelled widely in Europe, Africa and the Americas observing ecological issues and their impact on society and the land.
While working in the film industry as producer Pablo navigated the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in South America and filmed in the Sahara Desert in Africa. This allowed him to compare extreme environments and the impact of man on them.
Pablo has explored many locations for films and commercials, including in South Africa Argentina, United States, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Tunisia, Cyprus, Germany, United Kingdom France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine and Spain..
Pablo also navigated the wild rivers of Queguay, Yi and Negro in Uruguay. Over the years he acquired firsthand knowledge of wild rivers and urban rivers in many countries. He decided to put that knowledge to good use in the film London's Last Wilderness.
In films, Pablo wrote, directed and co-produced the film Adrift in Soho released in 2019, now available on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Plus, Microsoft Movies and DVD, distributed by Los Angeles company Random Media - Note: availability of the film on streamline platforms vary. The film is currently available to rent on Amazon Prime and YouTube.
Pablo has worked in different capacities with directors Hector Babenco, Charles Sturridge and Paul Street, as well as with photographers Annie Leibovitz, Nadav Kander and Eve Arnold. Pablo also produced the Argentina-Uruguay film El Chevrole and as producer and other capacities in more than 100 commercials and pop promos.
While working in the film industry as producer Pablo navigated the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in South America and filmed in the Sahara Desert in Africa. This allowed him to compare extreme environments and the impact of man on them.
Pablo has explored many locations for films and commercials, including in South Africa Argentina, United States, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Tunisia, Cyprus, Germany, United Kingdom France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Ukraine and Spain..
Pablo also navigated the wild rivers of Queguay, Yi and Negro in Uruguay. Over the years he acquired firsthand knowledge of wild rivers and urban rivers in many countries. He decided to put that knowledge to good use in the film London's Last Wilderness.
In films, Pablo wrote, directed and co-produced the film Adrift in Soho released in 2019, now available on Amazon Prime, iTunes, Google Plus, Microsoft Movies and DVD, distributed by Los Angeles company Random Media - Note: availability of the film on streamline platforms vary. The film is currently available to rent on Amazon Prime and YouTube.
Pablo has worked in different capacities with directors Hector Babenco, Charles Sturridge and Paul Street, as well as with photographers Annie Leibovitz, Nadav Kander and Eve Arnold. Pablo also produced the Argentina-Uruguay film El Chevrole and as producer and other capacities in more than 100 commercials and pop promos.
Medway River
Associate producer:
Alex Ochman
Alex Ochman
Alex Ochman is a Mancunian filmmaker who graduated with an MA from the Northern Film School in Leeds in 2017. Since then he has worked on a range of film and documentary projects including documentaries with National Geographic and feature films spanning various countries.
Alex has been involved with the documentary London's Last Wilderness since 2019.
Later he directed and scripted his first medium length film 'Native Speaker' which received several nominations including Madrid Indie Film Festival, Lift Off Global Network, Rome Indie Prisma Awards, LA Shorts and many others..
Most recently he worked as an Associate Producer on American WW2 feature “Triumph of The Heart” which will be shown in cinemas Autumn 2025.
ALEX ON FILMING 'LONDON'S LAST WILDERNESS.'
"It all started with a phone call from London. Pablo Behrens had contacted me with a new project. We had worked together on his previous film Adrift In Soho but this project was different. It was going to take me from land to water," remembers Alex. "To begin with I was a bit apprehensive. Filming, sailing, navigating is quite a challenge and I had never been to the Thames Estuary before."
"I had barely arrived from Poland and the next morning at 5am we were on the boat departing from Gillingham Marina down the Medway river towards the estuary. The Medway is like an industrial cemetery, in a way. It has disused cranes and wrecks of all shorts that lurk beneath the water. It's a mysterious place, especially at the crack of dawn."
"Not only do you have to watch the powerful tides but you also have to navigate carefully through waters frequented by fast, imposing oil tankers and cargo ships. It’s dangerous place and you have to keep your wits about you. The waves can get bigger in the estuary and close to Leigh-on-Sea we got caught by a squall that came from nowhere. On top of the forces of wind and water, we had to watch for sandbanks lurking beneath the water. Yes, we did run aground just outside Leigh Creek."
"Returning to Gillingham from Leigh-on-Sea was an unpredictable, fantastic experience. We came as close as possible to nature. We had to wake up early just before sunrise to catch the tide. The golden glow that accompanied our exit from port was a uniquely memorable one and it made it to the Final Cut of the film. The waters were still, and the sea and sky almost merged into one. Our engine cut through the stillness and let us loose into the estuary again."
"The crossing was smooth to begin with but on the Medway all hell broke loose. We had to sail back up the Medway with a powerful 6 meter tide behinds us, against near gale force winds in front."
"We had to plough through forces of nature full throttle. We made it back to Gillingham Marina in the end. The dock controller couldn't believe we were out there battling the elements. He opened the dock gates and our sailboat Genevieve was back at home port. I had to shoot off immediately to catch the plane back to Poland the same day."
Alex has been involved with the documentary London's Last Wilderness since 2019.
Later he directed and scripted his first medium length film 'Native Speaker' which received several nominations including Madrid Indie Film Festival, Lift Off Global Network, Rome Indie Prisma Awards, LA Shorts and many others..
Most recently he worked as an Associate Producer on American WW2 feature “Triumph of The Heart” which will be shown in cinemas Autumn 2025.
ALEX ON FILMING 'LONDON'S LAST WILDERNESS.'
"It all started with a phone call from London. Pablo Behrens had contacted me with a new project. We had worked together on his previous film Adrift In Soho but this project was different. It was going to take me from land to water," remembers Alex. "To begin with I was a bit apprehensive. Filming, sailing, navigating is quite a challenge and I had never been to the Thames Estuary before."
"I had barely arrived from Poland and the next morning at 5am we were on the boat departing from Gillingham Marina down the Medway river towards the estuary. The Medway is like an industrial cemetery, in a way. It has disused cranes and wrecks of all shorts that lurk beneath the water. It's a mysterious place, especially at the crack of dawn."
"Not only do you have to watch the powerful tides but you also have to navigate carefully through waters frequented by fast, imposing oil tankers and cargo ships. It’s dangerous place and you have to keep your wits about you. The waves can get bigger in the estuary and close to Leigh-on-Sea we got caught by a squall that came from nowhere. On top of the forces of wind and water, we had to watch for sandbanks lurking beneath the water. Yes, we did run aground just outside Leigh Creek."
"Returning to Gillingham from Leigh-on-Sea was an unpredictable, fantastic experience. We came as close as possible to nature. We had to wake up early just before sunrise to catch the tide. The golden glow that accompanied our exit from port was a uniquely memorable one and it made it to the Final Cut of the film. The waters were still, and the sea and sky almost merged into one. Our engine cut through the stillness and let us loose into the estuary again."
"The crossing was smooth to begin with but on the Medway all hell broke loose. We had to sail back up the Medway with a powerful 6 meter tide behinds us, against near gale force winds in front."
"We had to plough through forces of nature full throttle. We made it back to Gillingham Marina in the end. The dock controller couldn't believe we were out there battling the elements. He opened the dock gates and our sailboat Genevieve was back at home port. I had to shoot off immediately to catch the plane back to Poland the same day."
Lower Halstow
LONDON'S LAST WILDERNESS IS NOT CURRENTLY PRESENTING THE FILM TO FESTIVALS.
PABLO BEHRENS AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
PABLO BEHRENS AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
In 2019 Pablo Behrens made a three-day exploration trip of the Thames Estuary on board his own vessel. The result was a short film called The Crossing which became the inspiration of the current feature length documentary London's Last Wilderness.
ALEX OCHMAN'S AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS.
SOON TO BE ADDED
SOON TO BE ADDED
Leigh Creek
All photos and content by Pablo Behrens. All rights reserved. Copyright 2025
From the water itself. ”
JURISDICTION OF LONDON
London's Last Wilderness is an ecological film in which nature takes precedence over human habitation perhaps for the first time ever in the region.
However, the title of our film comes from the fact that for much of the last few centuries the City of London had exclusive fishing rights over the river Thames' waters all the way to the Western border of the Thames Estuary. The limit to their jurisdiction was marked by a straight line between the Crow Stone in Essex (north of the Thames Estuary) and the Yantlet Stone placed at the mouth of Yantlet Creek, Isle of Grain, Kent (south of the Thames Estuary).
In 1909 the rights passed to the Port of London Authority which now has jurisdiction over the Thames river from the Teddington Lock to the North Sea including the estuary. The first stones marking the jurisdiction of the City of London go back to 1197 when the City of London bought the rights from the Crown. The marking stones we see today go back to 1755 and later replacements to 1837. The stones today are kept in place for historical purposes only.
However, the title of our film comes from the fact that for much of the last few centuries the City of London had exclusive fishing rights over the river Thames' waters all the way to the Western border of the Thames Estuary. The limit to their jurisdiction was marked by a straight line between the Crow Stone in Essex (north of the Thames Estuary) and the Yantlet Stone placed at the mouth of Yantlet Creek, Isle of Grain, Kent (south of the Thames Estuary).
In 1909 the rights passed to the Port of London Authority which now has jurisdiction over the Thames river from the Teddington Lock to the North Sea including the estuary. The first stones marking the jurisdiction of the City of London go back to 1197 when the City of London bought the rights from the Crown. The marking stones we see today go back to 1755 and later replacements to 1837. The stones today are kept in place for historical purposes only.
Get in touch.
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Pablo Behrens
[email protected]  Thames Estuary towards North Sea
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LONDON'S LAST WILDERNESS Director and Producer PABLO BEHRENS Associate Producer ALEX OCHMAN Executive Producer PHILIP REID Executive Producers JAIME FERRER - EDUARDO COMAS EMILIO ORIBE Photography PABLO BEHRENS Script PABLO BEHRENS Additional Photography ALEX OCHMAN MATT CHAPMAN Additional Sound MAX BEHRENS Editors PABLO BEHRENS ALEX OCHMAN Music Composer TBA Narration MARCUS DARIVAS, Cosmonaut ANASTASIA PILLAR, Ground Control Drone Operators LAURENCE HILLS CALO BEHRENS PABLO BEHRENS Second Unit ALEX OCHMAN MIKI ABT Visual Effects (Canvey Island Data Storm Simulation) TOMMY ROSENBLATT FEDE BEHRENS Skippers IAN POLLARD - Silver Dollar GREG PENOYRE - Snow Goose IAN JAMES - Saremni ANGUS BROWNE - Star Fish MARK THE GARDNER - Hovercraft BEN LUDFORD - Etoile de Paris ALEX OCHMAN - Genevieve PABLO BEHRENS - Kitty Bird Script Consultant TREVOR MELVIN Sailing Consultant IAN POLLARD Support Crew SAM TURNELL, shipmate PAULINE STANHAM, research ANASTASIA PILLAR, graphics FEDE BEHRENS, navigation equipment MARCUS DARIVAS, production assistant NICOLAS PIZZINI, lead sailboat preparation SPONSOR Elliott Berry Marsurv Marine Surveys WITH THANKS Amani Naftali Juan Jose Roca Hector Tosar Raul Demaria Luis Viana Pilla Queralto John Schandy Guillermo Mera PRODUCTION NOTES
In hindsight, we can laugh. But it was no laughing matter at the time. During the production of London's Last Wilderness we ran aground once in the Thames Estuary at the entrance of Leigh Creek. We were rescued by Chris from Leigh Marina. Nearly hit a massive traffic buoy due to the powerful current in the middle of the Medway River. It could've ended the entire expedition just as it started. We got caught twice by sudden storms. You want to smell danger but you don't want to taste it. We came close to the latter. We got caught in the current of a massive spring tide which made us navigate in dangerous circles until we found a way out of the giant eddie provoked by deep river canals and nearby mudflats.. A cargo ship passed on the wrong side of the traffic buoy (see video) as we were waiting to cross the traffic separation lines from what we thought was a safe position. We lost our way and pursued the wrong coastal feature: an anti-submarine boom instead of the Southend-on-Sea pier! Seems crazy but the mind can play tricks on you. We lost 40' and we just made it to the marina as it was emptying of water. The river and the sea can confuse you in the most unexpected ways. Alex says 'you have to keep your wits about it' when navigatigating the Thames Estuary. Never totally rely of GPS or tide charts. If you read them wrong, you are done. Use eyeball navigation. But again, don't totally rely on your eyeballs as your mind can deceive you. So it's a catch 22. Don't fight the tide. It will beat you. Avoid tide against wind, it will make your life a misery. The effect of fog is well documented in our film. Fog can close in rapidly and catch you unprepared. During our filming a fishing party lost their way in the narrow Swale canal one early morning. With cargo traffic always in the vicinity it can be very dangerous. DANGERS - NAVIGATION It is much more difficult to navigate the Thames Estuary than the open sea. The big difference are the tidal currents in both directions every six hours and the meandering canals between mudflats and sandbars. You can't go straight if you want to get home. DANGERS - TIDES Some tides can be fun, others can be lethal. Two day-to-day tides are never the same. Some experienced sailors have ran aground at precisely the highest tide of the year. This could mean your boat getting caught for six months, sometimes forever. A miscalculation of the location and the depth could be enough to lose a vessel. DANGERS - CURRENTS If you fall overboard, by the time the emergency services arrive you could be several miles from the original location and you may never be found. Thank God for engines. Before them sailboats depended entirely on the wind to get around. A sudden change in wind direction coupled with the wrong current could end you in a grounding and the loss of a vessel. There are 700 documented wrecks in the main body of the estuary. GPS and engines have made life much easier when dealing with currents, day and night. If a top tidal current is against you, your boat will not move or will go backwards even at full speed. The current can be 6 knots or more in some places. DANGERS - TRAFFIC Large cargo ships travel at breakneck speed down the Thames Estuary and Medway River. They easily do 5-6 knots and weigh on average 150,000 tons - your vessel is about 7,000 tons. They will stop at nothing. They have the right of way and you better don't get in their way. DANGERS - POLLUTION The Thames Estuary tributaries including the Thames, Medway, Crouch and Benfleet are in a sorry state when it comes to toxicity. Officially, no river in UK is suitable for humans. Swimming is not recommended in rivers. In some places it's forbidden due to health reasons. The estuary provides a respite when the tide is in with water from the North Sea but caution is advised. DANGER - MUDFLATS Some mudlfats are very loose and you might end up up to your waist if you fall into it. Then the incoming tide will finish the job. MORE PRODUCTION NOTES COMING UP SOON Note: All pictures below shot during the filming of London's Last Wilderness.
Stranded boat by the pylon appeared on the Medway and Swale Boating Association.. 
The Thames at the Tate Modern.
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