We’ve known for a while that plastic is building up in the oceans. Film makers are now tackling the big questions about how it’s impacting us and what we desperately need to do about it. We review some of the movies and where to watch them for free.
The Smog of the Sea
The Smog of the Sea is a short movie which used to be available on YouTube – now unfortunately there’s only the trailer. It explains that the five ocean gyres, where our plastic is collecting, aren’t Great Garbage Patches – like some giant ocean land-fill sites – in fact they’re not even really plastic soup. The plastic has photo-degraded into such small pieces – it’s really just a smog of plastic. And on the microscopic level is where it’s starting to enter the food chain. To see the actual movie you’ll need to check for, or host a screening. Checkout their website. Just 30 mins and great music by Jack Johnson.
Oceans of Plastic
This is a doco shown on ABC on Monday 27 Feb. Here’s the 20s trailer, and the 42 minute version on iView.
The researchers were trying to find all the plastic in the ocean, because the amount floating on the surface doesn’t tally with what we know we’ve dumped on the ocean. The findings will surprise you. To quote a lead researcher: “It’s not worth throwing away plastic bags. You should just season them well and eat them directly because they’re going to end up back on your plate in one way or another.”
A Plastic Paradise
Angela Sun‘s journey of discovery to one of the most remote places on Earth, Midway Atoll, to uncover the truth behind the mystery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – possibly the movie that popularised the concept. Along the way she encounters scientists, industry, legislators and activists who shed light on what our society’s vast consumption of disposable plastic is doing to our oceans, and what it may be doing to our health. Shot in 2013 but things have only become worse since then. Watch the Trailer on IMDB, or the whole thing for free on SBS – you just need to sign up.
Plastic Pollution in Bali and Komodo
A Short by the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Step into the beautiful world of Komodo Island—one of the remote islands of Indonesia—where the pristine natural environment brims with life, but amidst the flora and fauna grows an invasive species: plastic pollution. Same message: Refuse Single-Use Plastic.
Watch the whole thing on their website.
Open Your Eyes
The 4 minute primer on plastic and the environment narrated by the sweet voice of Jeff Bridges. Free on YouTube.
A Plastic Ocean
The latest movie on the subject by Craig Leeson with Tanya Streeter. Filmed in various spots, it starts with blue whales in Sri Lanka, and jumps around a bit to places including Lord Howe Island, Midway Island, Tuvalu, Manila and Montreal. Here’s the trailer.
There are various screenings around the country. Google it! Here’s one in Manly on Earth Day Weekend. If you can’t find a screening why not host your own.
Make me Happy!
If you find this all a bit depressing and want some uplifting movies about the ocean … check out the nearest screening of the Ocean Film Festival and get your fix of the good stuff.
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