Born From The Reef WCFF 2025
Wildlife Conservation Film Festival 2025
•
20m
'Born from the Reef' tells the story of Coco, a passionate and self-taught coral reef scientist from the Maldives. After increasingly frequent coral bleaching events, Coco and his team work to restore Maldivian coral reefs and protect those who rely on them. Using a cutting-edge strategy known as larval restoration, the team attempts to track coral spawning in hopes of collecting and releasing millions of coral larvae onto degraded reefs. The only challenge is whether or not it's already too late for these coral reefs to spawn.
Filmmaker Owen Bornhorst is a 23-year-old cinematographer and photographer from Cleveland, Ohio USA specializing in underwater imagery and storytelling. He began to see how storytelling can be a powerful tool not only for showcasing the beauty of the natural world but also for scientific communication.
Up Next in Wildlife Conservation Film Festival 2025
-
Gazing at Mount Da-Jian WCFF 2025
A young digital media graduate student returns to her hometown to document the nature of Kenting. Behind the camera, she rediscovers the land she once took for granted and unexpectedly witnesses her father's transformation from a hunter into a guardian of the environment. This is a story of inter...
-
The Leap Beneath WCFF 2025
Narrated by Coyote Peterson, this film dives into the hidden world beneath the forest floor. Follow a springtail’s clumsy quest for food through a bustling ecosystem where mites, beetles, and other tiny creatures keep the forest alive.
Roman Willi is an award-winning wildlife filmmaker and photog...