{"id":12377,"date":"2019-03-13T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/tvreal\/"},"modified":"2019-03-14T15:12:19","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T19:12:19","slug":"drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drowning in Plastic director Tom Watt-Smith and Maria Ishak, VP of sales for North America at all3media international, talk to <\/em>TV Real about the documentary that examines the epidemic of plastic-waste pollution in the Earth\u2019s waters.<\/em><\/p>\n

Plastic is one of those everyday materials that people may think little about while using, but the ramifications of its widespread usage (and slapdash disposal) are becoming hard to ignore. The documentary Drowning in Plastic<\/em>, <\/em>produced by Raw TV for BBC One and sold by all3media international, brings this issue to the forefront.<\/p>\n

Drowning in Plastic<\/em> was inspired by the BBC series Blue Planet II<\/em>, which highlighted the mounting issue of plastics in our oceans. \u201cThe team at Raw TV worked with the BBC to create a 90-minute film that would further investigate the devastating effect of plastic on marine life around the world and the solutions that might avert this environmental disaster,\u201d explains Watt-Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scale and ambition of the project were enormous,\u201d he continues. \u201cTo tell the true story of plastic in our ocean we had to follow the \u2018marine plastic superhighways\u2019 around the world\u2014from the Arctic to Indonesia, Australia to the U.S. and Europe. In each location, plastic takes a different form, marine life is affected in different ways and solutions are unique to the region. To film in \"***Image***\"remote locations with majestic wild animals needed extra investment from all3media <\/em>and China Global Television Network (CGTN).\u201d<\/p>\n

In late January, all3media international struck a deal with CGTN for the worldwide premiere rights for the doc outside of the U.K. CGTN, a co-producer alongside BBC One, will air Drowning in Plastic<\/em> as part of its news and current affairs Big Story strand in more than 100 markets across Asia, Africa, the U.S., Latin America and Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur partnership with CGTN was an important one for a number of reasons,\u201d explains all3media international’s Ishak. \u201cFirst and foremost, we wanted to ensure the story had as wide a reach as possible; being a global network, CGTN was the perfect one-stop shop. Furthermore, the deal itself is non-exclusive, and following the premiere on their network, all3media international will have the opportunity of selling it into individual territories, further increasing distribution and viewership on this important and timely matter. Secondly, through their financial support, we were able to complete the production at the ambitious level that is needed for such a documentary, which was vital in being able to deliver a show that clearly highlighted the global issue of plastic pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wildlife biologist Liz Bonnin fronts the documentary, revealing the full-scale impact this pollution has already had, and exploring ways the environmental disaster might be averted and whether science can offer a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn comparison to other environmental disasters like climate change, ocean plastic research is in its infancy,\u201d says Watt-Smith. \u201cThere is just a small band of very dedicated and inspirational scientists leading the charge. Dr. Jennifer Lavers has been studying flesh-footed shearwater birds on a tiny island in Tasman. These birds, by weight, eat more plastic than any other animal living on or in the ocean. Dr. Amy Lusher works in the Arctic trying to discover how far plastic has traveled up the marine food chain by analyzing the stomach contents of tiny plankton as well as the poo of massive apex predators like walruses.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also a growing number of young engineers and inventors looking for solutions to the crisis, he adds. \u201cDavid Christian from Jakarta has devised an ingenious alternative to plastic made from seaweed, while Boyan Slat has built a hugely ambitious \u2018Ocean Cleanup\u2019 system, the world\u2019s longest floating man-made object that he hopes will collect thousands of tons of plastic already floating in our seas.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver nine months of filming, wildlife biologist and presenter Liz Bonnin met these experts (and more) on a global travelogue that took her to some of the most remote and inhospitable places on Earth,\u201d Watt-Smith says.<\/p>\n

While the message of conservation at the heart of the doc is an important one and the findings can feel rather devastating, the filmmakers were careful to present the topic in a way that was compelling and digestible for the everyday viewer. To accomplish this, Watt-Smith says it was \u201cvital to get the right mix of stunning marine life in unique locations, shocking images of plastic waste and inspirational characters. It was also key not to \u2018preach\u2019 to or overwhelm the audience with heavy science (a turn-off on both counts). The aim was to get a balance of hard-hitting scenes as well as solutions so the viewers are not left feeling \u2018all is lost\u2019 after 90 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Director Tom Watt-Smith and Maria Ishak, VP of sales for North America at all3media international, on how the doc examines the epidemic of plastic-waste pollution in the Earth\u2019s waters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":12378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[317,2665,3528,3527],"class_list":["post-12377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-all3media-international","tag-drowning-in-plastic","tag-maria-ishak","tag-tom-watt-smith","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nDrowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Director Tom Watt-Smith and Maria Ishak, VP of sales for North America at all3media international, on how the doc examines the epidemic of plastic-waste pollution in the Earth\u2019s waters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-13T13:00:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-14T19:12:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/2019-03-13-dip.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"319\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristin Brzoznowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristin Brzoznowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/\",\"name\":\"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-13T13:00:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-14T19:12:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0026b5a5c019f9a498d0a452e6e9d4be\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0026b5a5c019f9a498d0a452e6e9d4be\",\"name\":\"Kristin Brzoznowski\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/author\/kbrzoznowskiworldscreen-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus - TVREAL","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus - TVREAL","og_description":"Director Tom Watt-Smith and Maria Ishak, VP of sales for North America at all3media international, on how the doc examines the epidemic of plastic-waste pollution in the Earth\u2019s waters.","og_url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/","og_site_name":"TVREAL","article_published_time":"2019-03-13T13:00:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-14T19:12:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":319,"url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/2019-03-13-dip.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kristin Brzoznowski","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kristin Brzoznowski","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/","name":"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus - TVREAL","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-03-13T13:00:23+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-14T19:12:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0026b5a5c019f9a498d0a452e6e9d4be"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/drowning-in-plastic-puts-pollution-crisis-in-focus\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Drowning in Plastic Puts Pollution Crisis in Focus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/","name":"TVREAL","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0026b5a5c019f9a498d0a452e6e9d4be","name":"Kristin Brzoznowski","url":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/author\/kbrzoznowskiworldscreen-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/350"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}