Graduate's seaweed plastic documentary wins recognition at international film festival
15 October 2024
Television & Film Production BA(Hons) graduate Olaf Lawrence’s documentary about seaweed plastics has been presented with second place at the Hawaiian International Film Festival.
The film explores the new technologies around seaweed-derived plastics, which could be on the brink of transforming the plastic pollution epidemic. It also tells the stories of how plastic pollution is affecting local people, particularly on the Cornish coastline.
Green Ocean Gold, which had input from students across other Falmouth courses was entered in the ‘Environmental Shorts’ category. The team attended the festival in Hawaii in person to present their film in early October.
The film was produced by Charlie Greaves (BA Television), with DOP Ollie Gambie (BA Film), underwater videography by Finlay Apps and Osker Carmichael (BA Marine and Natural History Photography), sound mixing by Winston Tija (BA Animation), and directed by Olaf himself.
We caught up with Olaf to find out how he made the film and why it is important to him.
How did the project come about?
The project started in September 2023 to convey real solutions to the issue of plastic pollution in the ocean. It was a big collaboration across many different courses, which was great. We all fed off each other creatively, and we were able to combine our specific skills to make the film happen.
Where did the idea come from?
The idea came about through conversations with a volunteer at Greenpeace. They showed me some cutting-edge research in bioplastic development where seaweed can be used to create marine habitats but also as a sustainable source of plastic. After looking into this further, we found out that seaweed’s natural plasticity can be used as sustainable food packaging that will degrade naturally in water or soil within four weeks.
Everyone on the crew has developed a strong connection to the ocean from their time at uni; we’re all very passionate about protecting the environment and enjoy the water for surfing and swimming, and so we all felt inspired to tell this story
How did you make the film different from others on this subject?
This is actually the first documentary in the world about seaweed plastic itself, but I was inspired by the works of clothing brand Patagonia (Fishpeople) and National Geographic documentaries. I tried to make it unique by including the connection humans have with the environment and the ocean.
How did you find the people you interviewed?
We found the people we interviewed through lots of contacting and emails! Eventually, we were connected through Patagonia to seaweed farmers in Wales, as well as with a Cornish conservationist and diver. We travelled all over for this documentary and went to some really cool parts of Cornwall!
Every interview was extremely important for the film, but we particularly loved the observational sequences with Steve, who we discovered was a real character when filming over in Morgan Porth! Steve is actually studying Business and Entrepreneurship BSc at Falmouth and was kind enough to let us film his story as a surfer. Shooting the underwater scenes with Katie was also fantastic.
Who would you recommend the Television BA at Falmouth to?
I would recommend the BA Television course at Falmouth to people who want to explore living by the ocean while also making amazing films. I’m so grateful to my lecturers for helping me with this production, and would give a big shout out in particular to Caroline Deeds for teaching me observational filmmaking.
What are you going on to next?
Together with Finlay Apps and Osker Carmichael, I am starting a production company called Silver Steps Films. The next project will be a 30-minute short documentary about how one man's business could protect the Tarkine rainforest in Tasmania.
Green Ocean Gold will be released on YouTube the 31st of October 2024.
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