Balticsea 2020

The Baltic Sea Media Project - an enlightening project

The threats and opportunities that the Baltic Sea is facing affects the 90 million people living in the sea´s drainage area. Under the leadership of journalist Folke Rydén and photographer Mattias Klum, five documentaries and two feature films are going to be produced. The documentaries will portray the threats and challenges facing the Baltic Sea. The feature films will also show all the beauty of the sea and illustrate how important the ocean is for both marine inhabitants and those living in its vicinity.

The documentaries
The first documentary film - "For Cod's Sake" - was completed in autumn 2009, when Sweden was the chairman of the EU and the Baltic Sea was high on the political agenda. The film is about the huge waste of fine edible fish being thrown back into the sea as a result of insufficient legislation. The question examined in the documentary is "Will the politicians, supported by scientists and fishermen, change the legislation?" The second documentary - "Dirty Waters" – focus on the link between eutrophication and intensive animal production in and around the Baltic Sea. In the spring of 2013 the third film - "The Second Wave" - premiered. The film describes environmental pollutants found in and around the Baltic Sea, in nature and in human bodies. 2015 was the fourth film completed – Shipping Pollution. The Baltic Sea is one of the world's busiest maritime highway and the film raises the question how it affects the marine environment. In 2019 the last film was released and is a review on what has happened since the previous four films were made. The film looks back on the fishery, industrial animal farms and environmental pollutants. In total, the TV documentaries has screened in more than thirteen countries.

The feature films
Mattias Klum's first feature film "The Contemplator" premiered in 2013. Mattias and his crew followed life around the sea for four years for this unique film. Mattias second feature film was released in 2018. It is one of the first nature films that gives an in-depth portray of the Baltic Sea and its inhabitants.

The potential for added value is infinite
The films will feature material spanning several years, up to a decade. This means that changes and processes that are often overlooked in the media coverage can be depicted.

For each film the foundation has developed free educational materials (in Swedish) that tie each production to a specific topic. The education material has been updated continuously to fit the current curriculum for middle and high school. For more information about the educational materials, please visit our website in Swedish here.

At the website ourbalticsea.com you can watch trailers, watch the documentaries and films about the Baltic Sea, see the extras, download study guides (in Swedish) and learn more about our nearest sea, the Baltic Sea.