If the ocean could talk
would you listeN?
In 2019, we started what we thought would be a documentary about the North Atlantic Ocean, comprised of unique characteristics and complex systems, home to a wide range of organisms vocalizing below the ocean's surface. A film delicately balancing the beautiful sounds and scenes of the marine world contrasted against its destruction caused by human impacts.
What we didn't foresee is a story much more compelling, a "who done it," following the death of a newborn critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Was it manmade noise that caused the mother to lose her newborn, a ship strike, chemical or plastic pollution, was it discarded fishing gear or overfishing?
We learn from marine experts what happened to this infant right whale, why this species and others are destined for extinction, and why it matters. The documentary dives deep into viable solutions that everyone can support in order to preserve the sounds in the sea and the marine life in it.
This film promises to inspire hope, not doom, but only if we listen.
What we didn't foresee is a story much more compelling, a "who done it," following the death of a newborn critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
Was it manmade noise that caused the mother to lose her newborn, a ship strike, chemical or plastic pollution, was it discarded fishing gear or overfishing?
We learn from marine experts what happened to this infant right whale, why this species and others are destined for extinction, and why it matters. The documentary dives deep into viable solutions that everyone can support in order to preserve the sounds in the sea and the marine life in it.
This film promises to inspire hope, not doom, but only if we listen.
The journey to find the oceans calling begins in our documentary short
356: How the loss of one could save his entire species
Now in 8 film festivals!
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The North Atlantic, known for its treacherous and murky waters, home to one of the largest ship graveyards. It also possesses some of the most unique characteristics like the swift Gulf Stream, the essential fish habitat, Sargassum, and the only sea without land boundaries, the Sargasso Sea. These unique conditions allow biodiversity to flourish and many endangered species to hold on.
Studying plastic pollution in these waters for over 10 years, we’ve witnessed the beauty of the North Atlantic, as well as the negative human impacts on this special place. This was the genesis for the making of our full-length documentary, If the Ocean Could Talk: A Voice for the North Atlantic. The North Atlantic is extremely temperamental, so filming offshore requires calm seas and blue skies. On the rare occasion conditions line up, it’s go time. On a late November day such an opportunity emerged. Our film crew left the coast of North Carolina aiming to capture the natural beauty ready to capture breathtaking videos of the myriad of whales, dolphins, and porpoises that frequent the North Carolina coast, while also interviewing a local marine mammal expert. What ensued that day launched them on a journey to a story far more urgent. A message the ocean was trying to tell them, and that message the crew heard loud and clear. Their journey, captured in this short documentary, 356, became the hook for If the Ocean Could Talk. We are listening, will you? |
"This film will fundamentally change the way you think about the Ocean." |
Our journey continues in the full-length documentary film (currently in production)
If the Ocean Could Talk: A Voice for the North Atlantic
If The Ocean Could Talk: A Voice For the North Atlantic is a heart-stopping cinematic journey narrated by Plastic Ocean Project founder Bonnie Monteleone with composer and accomplished double bass player Garth Stevenson. As they journey parts of the North Atlantic Ocean, Stevenson bridges the power of music beyond human cultures and Monteleone conducts interviews with people that work, play, study and make a living on the water.
The ocean will speak through those who understand her best and the solutionaires coming up with ways where everyone and everything can win but only if we listen. Each will answer the question "If the Ocean Could Talk, What Would It Say?"
If the Ocean Could Talk invites viewers to join us on our pioneering voyage as we connect with experts and innovators who explore ways in which the sea already speaks to us. On this journey, we will travel through the North Atlantic and share the ocean characteristics found off the coast of North Carolina while recording the many unique marine life sounds under the surface.
In the film, we will meet professionals including world-renowned marine biologist and ocean explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle, the marine ecologist and author, Dr. Carl Safina, Dr. Ralph Chami, economist from the IMF, and the ocean advocate and singer-songwriter, Jack Johnson, as well oceanographers, political leaders, and "solutionaries" who all share in our belief that listening to the ocean's calling is important now more than ever.
The ocean will speak through those who understand her best and the solutionaires coming up with ways where everyone and everything can win but only if we listen. Each will answer the question "If the Ocean Could Talk, What Would It Say?"
If the Ocean Could Talk invites viewers to join us on our pioneering voyage as we connect with experts and innovators who explore ways in which the sea already speaks to us. On this journey, we will travel through the North Atlantic and share the ocean characteristics found off the coast of North Carolina while recording the many unique marine life sounds under the surface.
In the film, we will meet professionals including world-renowned marine biologist and ocean explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle, the marine ecologist and author, Dr. Carl Safina, Dr. Ralph Chami, economist from the IMF, and the ocean advocate and singer-songwriter, Jack Johnson, as well oceanographers, political leaders, and "solutionaries" who all share in our belief that listening to the ocean's calling is important now more than ever.
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In the film, we will meet professionals including world-renowned marine biologist and ocean explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle, the marine ecologist and author, Dr. Carl Safina, and the ocean advocate and singer-songwriter, Jack Johnson, as well oceanographers, economists, political leaders, and "solutionaries" who all share in our belief that listening to the ocean's calling is important now more than ever.
"It's a dangerous place to be a sea creature today. But because the problems originate with us, we are the source of solutions." |
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'"It is said that where there's life there's hope, and so no place can inspire us with more hopefulness than that great, life-making sea -that singular, wondrous ocean covering the blue planet." |
"This is not just a movement to protect whales and sharks, seals and fish, it is a movement to protect humanity and all other species on this planet." |
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The Plastic Ocean Project, Bootstrap, Loggerhead Productions, and Seven Season Films aim to release If The Ocean Could Talk on World Ocean Day, June 2023.
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The Ocean Is Calling, Are You Listening?
Join an upcoming film screening!
If the Ocean Could Talk and 356 are a production of
If the Ocean Could Talk is supported by
