A new documentary that highlights the importance of kelp forests is making the film festival rounds.
Kelp forests cover a quarter of the world’s coastlines, providing food and shelter for thousands of species, while also sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. But over the past decade, a third of these forests have been lost across the planet.
The documentary “Sequoias of the Sea” tells the story of the environmental, cultural and economic destruction impacting a Northern California town that has lost its kelp forest. It’s a deep dive into the lives of fishermen, tribes, scientists and a community working to restore a habitat devastated by a warming climate.
Kelp forests, found along nearly a quarter of global coastlines, are crucial climate change mitigators, but this species is in trouble. Along the Northern California coast, a striking 95% of these underwater forests has been lost.
Due to a perfect storm of changing ocean conditions, people are witnessing an ecological disaster in real time. What’s happening in the ocean is changing lives on land, bringing fishermen, scientists and tribe members together to restore this critical ecosystem and build a new blue economy.
The film takes viewers on a dive through the cold, rough waters of northern California, where most have never set eyes, bringing the audience beneath the surface of the ocean to highlight the beauty, fragility and resilience of California’s hidden forest.
If you’re in the Monterey, California area this weekend, you’ll be able to attend a rare public screening of the film.
Admission is free, but you’ll need to register to attend. A panel discussion on kelp restoration and ocean recovery efforts in Monterey and beyond will follow the screening.
Check out the film’s trailer below.
