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CARING FOR THE LAGOON

Year: 2011

Classification: Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G

Runtime: 52 min

Produced In: France

Directed By: Oliver Dickinson

Produced By: Philippe de Grissac

Language: French, Shimaore, Shibushi and English languages with English subtitles

Website: caringforthelagoon.free.fr/Home.html

price includes GST and postage

The lagoon of Mayotte, an island in the Indian Ocean, is a microcosm of the challenges facing vulnerable ecological systems world-wide. Its story also offers a model for community action to protect fragile systems.

Mayotte is a French territory and a destination for large numbers of French holiday-makers. The lagoon is one of the largest in the world, with an enclosing reef of nearly 200km in length: it is at the very heart of the island's social, cultural and economic life.

Oliver Dickinson's beautifully crafted observational documentary explores the many ways in which the islanders - the Mahorans - are committed to protecting the lagoon, with its 22 species of marine mammals, 200 species of coral, and 700 species of fish.

Economic development together with an increasing population have put severe strains on the lagoon's marine life. Work to preserve the lagoon starts at the top of the mountains of Mayotte: terrestrial and marine ecosystems are strongly linked together, and the health of the lagoon is vulnerable to mud and waste water.

Fishermen, farmers, tour operators, artists and environmental groups, are all part of the story of creating awareness and building a community culture of "caring" for the lagoon for future generations.

The vibrant music for the film is composed and performed by Eliasse, a young Mahoran composer and master of the guitar, who has been performing on European stages since 1999.


AWARDS

  • Bronze Award, Baku International Film Festival
  • Grand Prix of Ecology, Warsaw FilmAT Festival
  • Silver Award, Tourfilm Riga Festival
  • Golden Award nominee, Al Jazeera Documentary Film Festival
  • Cousteau Award, Lille Ecollywood Film Festival
  • Silver Award, Tehran Roshd International Film Festival
  • Best Environmental Film Award, Jahorina International Film Festival
  • Best Film on Natural & Cultural Heritage Preservation, European Environmental Film Festival
  • Golden Wave Award (Best Ecology Film), Silver Lake International Film Festival

FESTIVALS

  • To Save and Preserve Environmental Film Festival, Russia
  • Baku International Film Festival, Azerbaijan
  • Bogota Festival de Cine, Colombia
  • Karlovy Vary Tourfilm Festival, Czech Republic
  • Bucharest DocumentArt Film Festival, Romania
  • Prague Life Sciences Film Festival, Czech Republic
  • Matsalu Nature Film Festival, Estonia
  • Brisbane SCinema Film Festival, Australia
  • Wondering Well Nature Film Festival, Serbia
  • Belize International Film Festival, Belize
  • Warsaw FilmAT Festival, Poland
  • Tourfilm Riga Festival, Latvia
  • Al Jazeera Documentary Film Festival, Qatar
  • International Envirofilm Festival, Slovakia
  • Ostrava Nature Film Festival, Czech Republic
  • STEPS International Documentary Festival, Ukraine
  • Dompierre Nature Encounters Film Festival, France
  • Nova Friburgo SocioEnvironmental Film Festival, Brazil
  • Lille Ecollywood Film Festival, France
  • Tehran Roshd International Film Festival, Iran
  • Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival, Malaysia
  • Ménigoute Nature Film Festival, France
  • Bratislava Ekotop Film Festival, Slovakia
  • Jahorina International Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • European Environmental Film Festival, Bulgaria
  • Silver Lake International Film Festival, Serbia