93,899 (and counting). That’s how many underwater images Barbara Crites has taken in photo-documenting marine life in the US Virgin Islands. Not bad for someone who’s “not really a water person”. She is proof that anyone can contribute to citizen science if they follow their curiosity, jump in with both feet and discover the world around them…and in turn, themselves. —BB

On Long Island’s east end, Bella (Courtney Stallings) and husband Noah (Jack Sachot) struggle to maintain their bluepoint oyster business against an onslaught of algal blooms, red tides and other threats from an ailing ocean. Bella is also struggling to resist a temptation embodied by Celeste, a friend who awakens her to the absence of sensuous warmth in her relationship to the taciturn Noah. Superbly acted, written, directed, shot and edited, with a spot-on soundtrack, this is an absolute gem of a film about a human relationship under stress. —SJPH

Take a dive into the journey of the ornamental fish species, blue tang aka “Letter Six” or Pixar’s Dory from the coral reefs in Indonesia to a hobbyist’s aquarium in Colorado. This film ultimately reveals a bigger picture of the global ornamental fish trade and how it affects people's lives and their livelihoods. – YI

The Haenyao are women free divers from Jeju Island, South Korea, who make their living collecting shellfish and seaweed. These are South Korea’s first working moms. Most of them are the sole support of their families. This matrilineal activity is passed down from mother to daughter. The Haenyao go collecting their entire livings and it is not uncommon for three generations to be in the water at the same time. —IS

When a world champion freediver, William Trubridge, and his partner Sachiko Judy Fukumoto find out about the pregnancy of their daughter, their emotional and oceanic journey to find the best place to give a water birth begins. Their deep love and the care for the ocean intensify as the birth of their daughter approaches. —YI

To the Indigenous Tlingit peoples of Southeast Alaska, herring are an important resource connecting communities and ocean ecosystems. With stunning images of Alaskan wildlife and open spaces, this film shows the importance of herring to seals, eagles, whales and people — and the risks they are facing from commercial harvesting. Together, the herring keepers are working to protect the herring of the Sitka sound, and with them sovereignty and traditional ecological knowledge. —DM

In the summer of 2017, a team of scientists led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ventured a thousand kilometers off the coast of Brazil to explore the seafloor around a little-known cluster of islets called St. Paul's Rocks. One of those scientists, Diva Amon, a deep-sea biologist from the Natural History Museum of London, describes what it's like to venture into a dark, unknown world 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) below the surface—and why this type of research is key to understanding and protecting our oceans.

Reduce, reuse, recycle – it’s now become a standard mantra for those of us who understand the harmful impacts that plastics have on our environment, and ultimately our lives. An experimental film approach telling the story in a new way, with a new ‘r’ word to add to and repeat the mantra – reform. —AB