Reel to Real: Ocean Action Starts Here

Reel to Real- Ocean Science in Action

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This program celebrates the wonder of marine science and the people working to understand, protect, and restore our ocean. Through stories of discovery, resilience, and innovation, these films reveal how knowledge becomes action from saving endangered species to reimagining our relationship with the sea. Together, they inspire curiosity, compassion, and a shared responsibility for the blue world that sustains us all.


841 Otter (17 min)

Directed by Rachel Burnett

Catching waves and biting boards, Sea Otter 841 has captured the attention of citizens, scientists, and journalists around the world. While she continues to evade capture, the media frenzy has raised the question: What should we do about this unruly otter?


The Last Vaquita (14 min)

Directed by Ed Harrison

With the Vaquita Porpoise on the brink of extinction, two brothers who collaborate as wildlife artists leave their studio behind and head to a small fishing town in Mexico. They board the M/V Farley Mowat to experience the front-line fight between ocean conservationists Sea Shepherd and the poachers, backed by the Mexican cartel, who are devastating countless marine species.

Caught up in a tale of greed and corruption, they witness a battle that seems all but lost and find themselves questioning their place in the world. Can they use their craft to take action amidst today’s Sixth Mass Extinction?


Eight Arms That Unite Us (10 min)

Directed by Matthew Judge

Eight Arms That Unite us is a story of how a community in Indonesia is melding traditional and customary law with marine science - to preserve their marine resources for generations to come!


The Ocean Solution (14 min)

Directed by Darcy Hennessey Turenne

Farming under the sea? Meet Bren Smith, the ocean farming pioneer whose vertical kelp and shellfish farms can transform the way food is produced. As a commercial fisherman, Bren’s career was nearly wrecked by the crashing cod stocks in the North Atlantic; he then turned to oyster farming, just in time for catastrophic, climate-driven storms to show him there wasn’t a solid future in that, either. Unwilling to tether himself to land, he took the hard lessons learned and returned to the sea with a new method of restorative ocean farming. What he discovered is a way to produce large quantities of nutritious food that fights the climate crisis, cleans the ocean, creates aquatic habitat and sustains his sea-going way of life.


Sharks of the Icy North (51 min)

Directed by Christina

Journey into the cold, remote waters of the North Atlantic to uncover the hidden lives of sharks thriving in extreme environments. Through groundbreaking research and breathtaking underwater footage, this film challenges misconceptions and reveals the adaptability, importance, and mystery of these often-misunderstood predators.

Farming under the sea? Meet Bren Smith, the ocean farming pioneer whose vertical kelp and shellfish farms can transform the way food is produced. As a commercial fisherman, Bren’s career was nearly wrecked by the crashing cod stocks in the North Atlantic; he then turned to oyster farming, just in time for catastrophic, climate-driven storms to show him there wasn’t a solid future in that, either. Unwilling to tether himself to land, he took the hard lessons learned and returned to the sea with a new method of restorative ocean farming. What he discovered is a way to produce large quantities of nutritious food that fights the climate crisis, cleans the ocean, creates aquatic habitat and sustains his sea-going way of life.

  • Year
    2021
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    United States
  • Director
    Darcy Hennessey Turenne
  • Producer
    Patagonia Provisions, Birgit Cameron
  • Cast
    Bren Smith, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Paul Greenberg
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