Documenting a critical issue of our time, “Save the Reef Act Now” explores the impact climate change is having on the world’s largest coral reef system. One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef is under threat from rising water temperatures and higher UV radiation levels resulting in coral bleaching.
A three nation effort, “Save the Reef Act Now” was made by members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association and produced by Australia Asia Film Group, MCMSTV (Japan), Hollywood Pictures (Shanghai), and Calypso Productions (Australia). Stunning and vastly informative, “Save the Reef Act Now” is a must-see for anyone who cares about the environment and the well-being of the Reef and its marine life.
Featuring interviews with a number of experts in the fields of environmental and marine science, the film examines how human-driven activities are altering the health of the Reef and what can be done to reverse and improve its resilience.
One particularly interesting segment takes viewers to Okinawa where they’re introduced to Koji Kinjo, a coral farmer, who saw changes taking place to underwater ecosystems locally and began growing coral to transplant around the island to help with restoration efforts there.
Seeing the passion people have to combat underwater degradation will leave viewers inspired that the battle to save the Reef is far from lost. One, of course, doesn’t have to become a coral farmer to make a difference. The film movingly addresses the variety of actions people can take in their own lives to help save the Reef and how, whether we realize it or not, we all have a connection to the Reef and its wondrous ecosystems.
The film’s underwater and aerial cinematography, specifically the footage by Stuart Ireland of Calypso Productions, is breathtakingly beautiful and transports viewers out of their seats and into the ocean giving them a real sense of just how majestic the Reef and its ecosystems truly are.
An awe-inspiring journey that will spur you to action, “Save the Reef Act Now” is a film ocean lovers can’t miss.
See “Save the Reef Act Now” screening March 28th at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. For ticket information, visit: cinemanova.com.au.
