Chasing Coral

Chasing Coral follows Richard Vevers, a former advertising worker who became an underwater photographer and ocean campaigner. He joins young coral expert Zackery Rago, filmmaker Jeff Orlowski, and a group of scientists and divers. They travel through warm seas in places such as Hawaii, Australia, and the Caribbean while building cameras that can record coral bleaching over time. The team faces storms, broken equipment, poor visibility, and the pain of watching living reefs turn white and die. The film feels like a bright underwater adventure that slowly becomes sad and urgent.

The film openly argues that human carbon emissions and burning coal, oil, and gas are heating the oceans and killing coral reefs. Scientists repeat that warning, and the ending asks people to support climate action, join reef surveys, and help push change. The film also presents cleaner cities, new jobs, and shared effort as hopeful answers. These are clear environmental activist themes, but the story does not center on race, gender, sexuality, or other identity politics. The message shapes the whole documentary, while identity-driven themes are not part of the main story.