KelpFest and Mendocino Film Festival unite to raise awareness of kelp loss

The Mendocino Beacon | By Mary Benjamin | mbenjamin@advocate-news.com

On June 1, in Mendocino at the Mendocino Film Festival Tent venue, the KelpFest and the Mendocino Film Festival united to bring to a broader audience an awareness of the devastating and widespread kelp loss along the Pacific coastline.

This past weekend, they offered public viewing of three kelp documentaries and a book signing event for Josie Iselin’s The Curious World of Seaweed at the Gallery Bookstore in Mendocino. They also demoed the web-based book The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp.

The Mendo Film Festival presented two short films made by the Nature Conservancy: Forests Above, Forests Below, directed by Sashwa Burrous, and A Disappearing Forest, directed by Tyler Schiffman. Both films featured stunning underwater photography and supportive narration.