By Noma Faingold

Steve Peletz, 65, underplays his high-risk activities.

He has been scuba diving for more than 40 years. He joins marine biologists on expeditions in remote, exotic waters off the coast of Costa Rica, Columbia, Mexico and the Galápagos Islands. As a volunteer “citizen scientist,” his task is usually to tag different types of sharks so they can be tracked.

In 2019, he took up swimming in the ocean, specifically with a group at China Beach on the northwest edge of San Francisco. Peletz brought his GoPro camera on virtually all of the more than 1,000 swims. He combined his lifelong love of photography and the ocean into his first film, “Lands End,” a nine-minute short that had its world premiere at the Green Film Festival of San Francisco late last month at the 4-Star Theater.

Peletz has lived in the Inner Sunset for more than 33 years with his wife, Kyra Minninger. Their two adult children, David and Sara, live in Cole Valley and Austin, Texas, respectively. His wife, whom he met in a research diving class at Berkeley, pretty much let go of diving decades ago.

“She was afraid we might orphan our children,” he said.

His first love, scuba diving, and his latest obsession, filmmaking, are now his priorities, as he eases out of his career as owner of a real estate/construction company. Although Peletz earned undergraduate and MBA degrees at University of California, Berkeley decades ago, he is enrolled in his ninth class at City College of San Francisco in the film and broadcast departments.

“I call this my life 3.0,” he said.

“Lands End” is a beautifully shot, upbeat film about the group he swims with.

“I thought of it as a gift to my friends,” Peletz said. “The way I see this story is we all come to China Beach for different reasons. It’s a diverse crowd. People come from all walks of life, but they do share a love for the ocean. The sense of community is remarkable. We watch out for each other.”

In the film, one swimmer talks about feeling free in the ocean. Another describes the sensation of the ocean as “hugging” her.

“I do it for the adventure,” Peletz said.

He admits that there are dangers.

“The surf, the swell and the wildlife are serious considerations. Drowning and hypothermia are much bigger risks than worrying about sharks,” Peletz said. “Sometimes you can get into trouble, fighting the current. A swell can send you flying backwards. It’s powerful. It can be like being inside of a washing machine. You learn to respect the ocean.”

Peletz also uses more elaborate film gear (a Sony A7 mirrorless camera and video lights) for both local swims and scuba diving – up to 70 pounds of equipment. Thirty-mile bike rides on weekends help him stay fit for diving and filmmaking.

“I’m hooked on it,” he said. “I love seeing these wild creatures up close. I’ve been in the water with whales, sharks, dolphins and sea lions. There’s no substitute for seeing them with your own eyes.”

He plans to make other shorts, building up to helming a documentary feature about shark science and research expeditions.

“It’s got a science and marine conservation story that’s a clear arc. But I also think you need a human story to make it interesting,” Peletz said. “The angle would be the dedication of this small group of marine biologists. It’s a hero’s journey.”

“Lands End” has also been accepted into the Tennessee International Film Festival, taking place on Nov. 6-9. The film will be part of the opening night programming. Peletz will attend.

“I’ll go see what that’s like,” he said. “I’m still learning but I will try for other festivals next year.”

“Lands End” will be available online Nov. 1-15 through greenfest2025.eventive.org/films.