Two Films About Coastal Ecosystems
In this program
Magic Meadows: the power of seagrass
(Documentary, D: Florian Guthknecht, 60mins, Germany, English Language)
Seagrass not only stores our planet's largest reserves of sugar – it protects beaches worldwide from erosion, and cleans water like a sewage treatment plant. No other living creature on earth reaches a lifespan of almost 80,000 years. It is a nursery and habitat for countless species and purifies the sea water like a gigantic sewage treatment plant. With these superpowers, seaweed can help slow global warming. The film accompanies the leading seagrass researchers from the tropics to the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.
Saury Seaweed: whisper of the sea
(Documentary, D: June-ho Lee, 45mins, South Korea, Korean w English subtitles)
The seas off the Korean Peninsula are warming faster than almost anywhere on Earth, causing a local marine plant to pass into legend. Tracking this species forgotten for decades, an investigative journalist uncovers a crucial clue from an old fisherman: "Saury seaweed," a plant once used to catch fish bare-handed. His relentless journey pushes further and further north, ultimately leading him into the highly fortified, high-tension waters of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).This gripping underwater investigation goes beyond a simple ecological search. The undeniable visual proof of a shifting marine ecosystem directly compelled the South Korean government to draft an unprecedented plan for a joint inter-Korean underwater exploration—proving that the global climate crisis demands immediate action that transcends political borders.