Who Owns the Sea?

THE SCRAMBLE FOR THE LAST RAW MATERIALS

The search for new and ever bigger reserves of natural resources has pushed forward into new territory: the deep sea regions of the Earth, the largest and least researched areas on the planet. At depths of thousands of metres, researchers are discovering landscapes of breathtaking beauty, untold numbers of previously unknown living creatures – and raw materials in massive quantities. For the first time, this documentary presents the world’s leading projects aimed at exploiting the treasures of the sea bed. These ambitious schemes involve enormous risks: in a region that knows no rules, no controls and no borders the potential for political conflicts and environmental damage is huge.

TEAM
Written and directed by: Sarah Zierul // Camera: Michael Kern, Thomas Kutschker, Steffen Bohn // Sound: Joe Knauer, Rupert Scheele, Andrä Klaukien // Film editor: Isabelle Albert // Music: Stefan Döring // Production manager: Oliver Gontram // Executive producer: Thomas Weidenbach // Commissioning editors: Barbara Schmitz, Andrea Ernst

AWARDS
– Ecotopfilm – International Festival of Sustainable Development Films in Bratislava, Main Prize in category A – popular – scientific – science and technology, 2010
– Medienpreis of the Deutsche Umwelthilfe, Germany
– Special mention of the Axel-Springer-Preis for young journalists in the category television
– First place, award for the best film, Atlantis Natur- und Umweltfilmfestival, Wiesbaden/Germany
– Award in the Category of Journalism, Ekofilm-Festival 2009, Czech Republic
– Environment-award, Agrofilm festival in Slovakia
– Award for the best documentary, International Film Festival ‘Water, sea and the oceans’, Prague 2009