A PIECE OF THE OCEAN FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE
Whether we can see it or not, the ocean flows through every aspect of our lives, and now is a perfect time to reflect, learn, imagine, and nurture that relationship through film.
We’ve curated a list of films that have touched us, made us laugh, and inspired our drive to create an abundant and sustainable ocean.
Share your favourite disruptive, poignant, wild, and heartwarming ocean films with us online using the hashtag #mypieceofocean
The Life Aquatic with Captain Steve Zissou
Recommended by our Strategic Communications Advisor Josh Kirkman
I have probably seen this film 40 times, mostly because the comedy is so subtle that you need to revisit it in order to catch every morsel of humour. It’s quite a quirky satire on the theme of French oceanographer and documentarist Jacques Cousteau, and while at first it may seem like the film is poking fun at a life profoundly experienced in the ocean, its conclusion is one of protecting, preserving and appreciating the oceanic realm despite ourselves.
It’s also just fun seeing Bill Murray squeeze into a wetsuit and put in one of the best and most nuanced performances of his career.
Breath
Recommended by our communications intern Paige Lasser
This was one of the first Australian films I have watched and absolutely loved it as it emphasises the role of the natural environment in our lives. The movie is set in a remote corner of the Western Australian coast and touches upon the power and alluring nature of surfing, following two adrenaline-seeking schoolboys who spend endless summer days pushing their limits and courage on searching the horizon for the next massive wave. The camera spends a lot of time on top of and under the water, and some of the wave shots will make you gasp. The young actors are brilliant, having never acted before, following their emotional and coming-of-age journey: breathing and being alive. A recommended local Aussie film that will provide you constant gratification for the ocean.
Chasing Ice
Recommended by our communications intern Pascale Hunt
Chasing Ice is a documentary that follows environmental photographer James Balog, who goes on a mission to capture climate change in action. He travels to Greenland, Iceland and Alaska to film melting glaciers which he had identified with consultation from leading scientists, mounting cameras to record time lapse videos of melting ice over the course of several years. The film was released in 2012, and since then, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet has only accelerated. Watching this, I was uplifted by the drive and determination of the team whose mission to show the world the reality of global warming motivates them to overcome mountains of physical and technical hurdles.
The Endless Summer
Recommended by Co-Founder Tim Silverwood
In these times of isolation and travel restrictions, I couldn’t help but cast my mind back to this classic surf/adventure film. The Endless Summer, released in 1966 follows up and coming surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the globe in search of the perfect wave.
Directed, filmed and narrated by the charismatic Bruce Brown, the film is part anthropological study and part comedy as the trio navigate the world with their ‘aeroplane wings’ (surfboards) encountering communities who have never seen white men before, let alone surfers.
The highlight has to be the discovery of the ‘perfect wave’ at Cape St Francis in South Africa - a spectacular sand bottom point with waves I’ve most certainly surfed in my mind many times over.
A true classic.
Link to Trailer
The Blue Planet - Sep 2001
Recommended by Co-Founder Nick Chiarelli
In 2003 I left my job as an accountant and moved from Sydney to Cairns to train as a divemaster and work on the Great Barrier Reef. I didn’t know a single person in Cairns and was leaving a comfortable, safe career to follow something that I was becoming increasingly passionate about. I’d always surfed but lately I’d been hearing an increasing call to become immersed deeper (quite literally) in the ocean.
Over the first couple of months of settling into life in Cairns and completing the Divemaster course I watched The Blue Planet most nights. I was living in a run-down boarding house with no internet and I had a really old laptop with a DVD drive and The Blue Planet was the only DVD I had. I was diving and training by day and studying and watching The Blue Planet by night. Some days life would imitate art when I would see something on the GBR that I’d seen recently on The Blue Planet. I remember seeing a parrotfish sleeping in its mucus sack on my first night dive and was blown away because I’d watched the same scene in the Coral Reef episode from The Blue Planet the night before.
Now almost 20 years later I get to enjoy it all over again with my three year old son who is fascinated with all the underwater creatures.
Share your piece of the ocean with us! Use the hashtag #mypieceofocean on Instagram and we'll share it on @oceanimpactorg