Planet Ocean

The work of the photographer, reporter, film maker and ecologist Yann Arthus-Bertrand (born in Paris in 1946) is characterised by its astonishing visual beauty and the importance of its environmentalist message. This can be seen in his photographs (published in the National Geographic, Paris Match and GEO) and in his films (‘Home’(1)), and in multi-disciplinary projects, in particular ‘7 billion Others’(2).

Supported by the Good Planet Foundation (3), the multi-award-winning documentary ‘Planet Ocean’ fits perfectly within his work as a whole, even though made in partnership with Michael Pitiot. In the course of a visually thrilling film, we are given a factual, objective analysis, sometimes unavoidably frightening, of the current state of our oceans and the principal threats to the conservation of its ecosystems. It is a difficult balance for a film – it could just as easily displease those who do not appreciate the work’s more activist side as be criticised by others who think the message is somewhat attenuated by the beauty of the natural settings. What is undeniable is that ‘Planet Ocean’ leaves no one indifferent.

There are additional points of interest. This work is available in full, and with subtitles in multiple languages, on the internet(4). But it is also possible to download a mobile phone app free of charge, produced by the Good Planet Foundation, with a lot of information about the oceans and the species that live there. Even though the content of the latter is (as yet) only available in French, there is a news feed that is rich in content in English and you can view a lot of interesting videos linked to the film.

Vasco Trindade