Chasing Coral is celebrating ONE YEAR since our worldwide launch! With the release of the film, we’ve witnessed communities across the globe connect the story of our reefs to action in powerful ways. One screening at a time, we’ve reached millions worldwide and put the coral story in the headlines.

In honor of our first birthday, we’ve compiled some of our favorite highlights and memories from the year below.

With over 100,000 people as part of this growing movement, we are continuing to explore new ways to “make waves” throughout the world:

From business and community leaders to artists and grassroots activists, Chasing Coral has empowered others to use film to accelerate change in their communities:

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Maine fisherman recruit more waterway data collectors. “Chasing Coral created an opportunity to connect the changes fishermen are seeing in the GOM with the wider implications climate change is having on our marine resources globally.” Read more here.

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The people of Manly gathered on the beach to talk about something near and dear to the community: the health of their shoreline. Read more here.

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Over 60 screenings took place around World Oceans Day 2018, culminating in the first ever global March for the Oceans. Read more here.

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1,300 Aquidneck Island public and private school students from grades 5-12 attended newportFILM EDU’s screening of Chasing Coral. Read more here.

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City officials in Newton, GA hosted a screening and discussion to collaborate on implementing new sustainability initiatives. The collaboration led to the launch of Solarize Newton, a campaign to make rooftop solar affordable for residents.

Team Reflections

Our team has worked diligently throughout the year to create a lasting impact, and what a year it’s been! Here’s a look back at some of our favorite moments, submitted by members of Chasing Coral’s Impact Team:

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“One of my all time favorite moments of Chasing Coral was when the scientists from the film received a standing ovation at Sundance. Watching the people who dedicated years of their life to scientific research be recognized and celebrated by a sea of viewers was a truly powerful and moving moment for me and something I will never forget.” — Larissa Rhodes, Producer and Creative Director

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Image by 17 year old Aashni Parikh documenting coral bleaching in Bali, Indonesia...."One of my favorite moments was immediately following the release last July. As the community screenings manager, I saw hundreds of emails pouring in from people around the world, who'd just attended a community screening or caught the film on Netflix. It was an emotional week reading personal stories from all ages. Some were reminded of a love of the natural world they once had in their youth. Some who were shocked and saddened at the state of things. Inspired youth were eager to talk to Zack and to share the film with their classmates and community. Everyone wanted to know how to help. It was in this moment, I knew we were doing something special and that there stood a unique opportunity to inspire the next generation, to change hearts and minds, and to leverage the film as a tool for action." — Meghan Welsch, Community Screenings Manager

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“One of my favorite moments this year was "Chasing Brews" at Atlanta's Sweetwater Brewery, where 200+ young professionals grabbed a beer, watched Chasing Coral, and connected the dots between what the loss of the Great Barrier Reef means for Atlanta's "City in the Trees" during this important election year.” — Savannah Miller, Regional Campaign Manager

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"One of my favorite memories was the launch of our Dear South Carolina poster campaign. It was amazing to see and hear the messages that poured in around the need for clean energy in South Carolina directed at local legislators...many of whom eventually took notice." — Sam Adler, Campaign Strategist

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“My favorite memory from this past year is the week we spent sharing the film with over 1,000 students in Charleston County, South Carolina to launch our new project-based learning curriculum. The film sparked a genuine curiosity for our ocean and local environmental issues that students spent the semester exploring through their own community-based research projects.” — Max Steinman, Campaign Director

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“One of my favorite memories from the past year was sharing the the film at UN Headquarters in New York on World Oceans Day 2017. Before the film was public, this screening was as special sneak peek shared with this global community of leaders who were right there and then tackling some of the biggest challenges facing our ocean. When I saw the reaction of the audience afterward, it was a wonderful reminder of the power of story telling to bring people together and inspire action.” — Samantha Wright, Impact Producer

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"As a new member to the team, my most meaningful memory was getting to meet the whole team in person at a team retreat in Boulder prior to officially starting. I was blown away by the amazing impact Chasing Coral and the team has achieved and even more excited to get started to help plan for another incredible year!” — Alan Chan, Director of Growth and Analytics

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"My favorite moment from last year was coming together with many Chasing Coral folks to reassess the GBR, discover a new coral species, and explore further communicating the issues the film focuses on. " — Zackery Rago

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"One of my favorite memories from this past year was sharing Chasing Coral with my family at home in Sugar Land, Texas. Collectively we represented 4 generations, ranging from 6 to 76 years old. Some of us were born in the U.S., others are immigrants from India. Though none of us have travelled to the Great Barrier Reef, the film prompted an interesting conversation about the changing weather patterns and how its impacting immigration across the world." — Megha Agrawal, Director of Programming

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“My favorite (ongoing) memory is experiencing the incredible expressions of Chasing Coral-inspired art that’s submitted to us directly or via #ChasingCoral on social media. Since the release of the film, hundreds have published new works to promote the film and raise awareness for our ocean and reefs, like this body art and photography by Samuel Cole.” — Bre Graziano, Digital Community Manager

This is just at the beginning.
Click here for Chasing Coral’s first annual impact report.