Real Mermaids Found.A mermaid doesn't need anybody; she doesn't need to call the police. If she needs to get away, she just swims,' says Cookie, one of the five women featured in Mermaids. The documentary from debut filmmaker Ali Weinstein is about a community of men and women who find the freedom to be their truest selves through embodying a myth: half-woman, half-fish.

Weinstein first became interested in the mermaiding subculture after reading about Weeki Wachee Springs, a mermaid-themed amusement park that has hosted live action performances of The Little Mermaid ballet, all performed underwater. It's here we meet Vicki, the first of five women the film focuses on, a former Weeki Wachee mermaid filmed at a reunion as she shows off her latest tattoo—of Ariel, naturally..