Distributed by Green Planet Films, PO Box 815, Stonington CT 06378; 415-377-5471Produced by Leo GizziDirected by Nicolas Brown2023, Streaming, 85 mins Blue Carbon is an informative and compelling documentary about the importance of coastal ecosystems like mangroves, marshes and seagrass meadows in combating climate change. The term blue carbon refers to the role these coastal ecosystems play in carbon sequestration. Blue Carbon is hosted by Jayda Guy, a marine biologist and DJ who performs under the name Jayda G. Blue Carbon primarily explores the importance of blue carbon environments while also showing how Guy takes musical inspiration from blue carbon ecosystems and uses her platform for climate activism. Blue Carbon focuses on examples of blue carbon environments in Southern Florida, Vietnam, France, Senegal, and Colombia. Each location illustrates different facets of this topic, including the importance of blue carbon in absorbing carbon, how these environments are at risk, and how people are replanting mangroves. Each section includes interviews with local community members, showing the human impact of these issues as well. Throughout, Blue Carbon maintains a hopeful tone by focusing on the potential of coastal ecosystems to mitigate the climate crisis. Each environment visited includes gorgeous cinematography highlighting the natural beauty of these ecosystems. As Jayda Guy is a musician, music is interwoven through the film. The film features an electronic score by RZA and shows snippets of Jayda G’s song writing and performances. She takes inspiration from the environment, recording natural sounds to use in her music. The documentary also features with her reflections as both a working musician with a large carbon footprint and an artist who uses her platform to raise awareness. Importantly, Blue Carbon also touches on the social and ethical implications of these issues. Guy speaks with a woman in France who fears needing to relocate due to sea level rising and meets a woman in Senegal whose family has been in a temporary camp for four years after rising ocean levels and a lack of protective mangroves lead to the destruction of their home. Blue Carbon also touches on the ethical issues with the multi-billion dollar carbon offset industry and presents an example of a community lead carbon offset project in Colombia that can be a model for more ethical carbon offset programs. This makes for a well-rounded film that brings light to the many complicated facets of this topic. Blue Carbon is a hopeful and visually compelling documentary that focuses on one important aspect of the climate crisis through the unique perspective of a musician and biology. Guy states that as fighting climate change can be overwhelming, she wanted to focus on stories with hope. As a result, Blue Carbon is both informative and encouraging. Blue Carbon is a great documentary that can be enjoyed by the general public and be useful in a classroom setting in high school or post-secondary. The film as a whole, or segments focusing on a specific location would be valuable in many biology and ecology courses. Sociology classes focusing on the human impacts of climate change may also find certain clips useful. Awards:Gold Winner, Latitude Film Awards 2024; Best Professional Award Winner, Frome International Climate Film Festival; Prix Or, 2023 Deauville Green Awards