New Attenborough Film Highlights Ocean’s Crisis and Resilience
British naturalist David Attenborough shares a message of hope for the future of the world’s oceans in his latest film, Ocean, premiering Tuesday. The documentary highlights the vast damage human activities have inflicted on marine ecosystems while revealing the remarkable ability of oceans to heal.
Spanning his nearly 100-year lifetime, Attenborough chronicles the challenges facing the seas—from destructive industrial fishing to widespread coral reef bleaching. “After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea,” he says in the film’s trailer.
The full cinematic release is scheduled for Thursday, coinciding with Attenborough’s 99th birthday.
Enric Sala, executive producer of Ocean and founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas, reflects on Attenborough’s enduring influence: “When David Attenborough started, there were only two TV channels and everyone knew him as the voice of nature. Now there are hundreds of channels and social media platforms, yet he remains the definitive voice for nature.”
The London premiere will feature a star-studded evening event on a striking blue carpet, as well as daytime screenings for students and teachers. Sala hopes these young audiences will feel inspired to carry Attenborough’s legacy forward. “We want them to aspire to be the David Attenboroughs of the future,” he said.
Though the film portrays the oceans’ fragile state, it also celebrates discoveries made during filming that offer real hope. “The ocean can recover faster than we ever imagined. It can bounce back to life,” Attenborough affirms. “If we save the sea, we save our world. After a lifetime of filming our planet, I’m sure nothing is more important.”
Ocean arrives ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference in June, where global leaders aim to secure more commitments to a 2023 agreement on protecting ocean biodiversity—a treaty that still requires enough signatories to come into effect.
