Natives of Santa Monica are already well-versed in ocean environmental matters, but one local wants to bring that knowledge worldwide in his latest media endeavor.
Santa Monica-based director Brian Peter Falk’s new documentary project Hope in the Water premieres Wednesday on PBS, a collaboration between Falk, Emmy Award-winning producer Andrew Zimmern and media storyteller David E. Kelley. The three-part series explores the work of fishers, aqua farmers and scientists who make the difficult possible, harvesting aquatic species to grow the nation’s food base and helping to save the species’ ocean homes at the same time.
"[It’s] actually not really a series about fish, but it’s a series about people, and it’s the characters that you get to meet [who] are folks who are working toward a future for sustainable fishing every day," Falk said. "These are not policy folks, these are not think-tank people, these are fishers [and] farmers and scientists and community activists who are trying to make sure that the future of fishing is both a sustainable one for people … but it also can be healthy for the oceans."
Falk added that in the world of environmental documentaries spelling out doom and gloom for Earth, he wanted to show examples of "how great the promise is if we change and start to do things the right way." Notable examples showcased on Hope in the Water include sea urchin divers in the Santa Barbara area taking harmful kelp-eating purple sea urchins off the Pacific coastline, and a sustainable community-sponsored fish agriculture program in Philadelphia.
"We’ve been sort of sold this kind of false binary in a lot of environmental television programming, which is that if we take things from the ocean, we take fish from the ocean, we’re destroying the ocean, and that’s not really the reality," Falk said. "The reality is that if we take things from the ocean and we understand how to [responsibly] farm, fish … if we do those things in responsible ways, we can actually do things that are beneficial for us, for our diets, and we actually can do it without hurting the ocean."
In Goleta, just east of Santa Barbara, Falk directed the team of urchin divers who worked alongside actress Shailene Woodley on the endeavor. The overgrowth of purple urchins on the coastline has negative impacts on the ocean’s predators, and also contributes to the destruction of kelp forests that are instrumental in biodiversity. The divers pulled up baskets of the urchins and put them in water tanks, sending them to a farm where they can become sellable materials, making economic and environmental gains alike.
"They’re taking something that [has] basically just been destructive for the ocean, removing it from the ocean … then bringing it to a farm [and] turning it into something that can be sold for money, so there are a lot of wins there," Falk added.
Guest starring in the series are Woodley, journalist Baratunde Thurston, humanitarian and chef José Andrés and mogul Martha Stewart. Falk’s team ventured to Stewart’s home in Maine, taking her to Penobscot Bay for a firsthand experience in a scallop farming operation, something Falk said she "really had a great time" with.
Now ready to air, Falk stated that PBS was the perfect partner for Hope in the Water because of the organization’s commitment to balanced journalism and educational outreach. The network plans to cut down the hour-long broadcasts into smaller pieces for student digestion, placing the documentary into school lesson plans.
"There has already been a lot of interest from a huge number of schools across the country about getting the content into schools, so that kids in school can learn about sustainability and blue food and all that," Falk said.
Though the series has a nationwide focus, Falk never let his Santa Monica roots get too far away from him, taking his experience from the "amazing community" to be better informed on the show’s topics. His son is currently a counselor at Heal the Bay Aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier, continuing a family environmental legacy.
"I always feel like on a project like this, I already have a leg up because there are things I certainly understand about the coast in a way that I wouldn’t if I were living in a more landlocked place," Falk said.
Hope in the Water airs Wednesday at 6pm PDT on PBS SoCal 1. For more information, visit pbs.org/show/hope-in-the-water.
