In Ali Weinstein’s film Mermaids, we meet a handful of 21st century women who identify as living, contemporary versions of the legendary aquatic creatures.

We asked Weinstein about the doc this week.

SDTC: What surprised you about this subculture?

AW: How friendly and accepting everybody in the community is to newcomers, especially ones with cameras on their shoulders! When we showed up at MerFest 2015 (a conference of merfolk in North Carolina), we were shocked to find out how open people were with their personal histories and how excited they were to share how mermaiding has affected their lives for the better. Everyone wanted us to try on a tail and experience it first hand. I’ve never felt so welcomed in my life.

Why do you think this subculture is gaining popularity?

The mermaid myth has always been present in history; it amazed me once I started researching it just how far back in time and how universal legends of mermaids are–there are mermaid myths from every corner of the world imaginable. So I think mermaids have always been there as a powerful and beautiful female archetype in our collective unconscious.

I asked all my subjects why they think mermaids are so trendy right now and they have their theories, but it’s a bit of a mystery to me still. Perhaps it’s the fact that my generation grew up on Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Splash, so mermaids were a big part of our childhood.

Now that we’re older and have disposable incomes, some people are putting that money towards creating custom-made tails and living out their childhood fantasies. It definitely seems like there’s something in the air (or water) right now.

What about mermaiding appeals to you?

I was a competitive synchronized swimmer throughout my adolescence and teenage years, and I’ve always loved the water. I never had the idea to put on a tail before I found out about the mermaiding community, but once I learned about it, the somewhat niche and quirky subculture made sense to me.

There’s something about being underwater that’s impossible to describe and makes me feel beautiful and at peace with myself, so it seems like a natural extension to add a tail into the mix and get to escape the real world for a little while and feel like a mythical figure.

As one mermaid I met said, when you put on a Wonder Woman costume, you don’t get to fly, but when you put on a tail, you can actually swim with it and truly get the chance to transform.

What do you want audiences to take away from this film?

On the surface, the act of putting on a tail may seem silly or weird, but there’s a lot more depth to it than one might think. I hope that audiences laugh when they’re in the theatre, because our film is playful and it’s meant to be fun, but I also hope they walk away with a sense of the transformation that mermaiding has brought into the lives of our subjects, and hopefully they too will feel empowered as a result!

Mermaids screens April 28 & 29 and May 1 & 5. Get tickets here.