Salted Earth plunges us into the heart of an invisible and creeping crisis that’s transforming the Mid-Atlantic – the inexorable rise of sea levels. This hard-hitting, yet tenderly woven 20-minute documentary paints a vivid picture of an escalating environmental catastrophe, where the threat is not just the swelling sea, but the encroaching salt that kills forests and decimates arable land, but could also signal a return to the natural order of the Atlantic Coast.
AWARDS
Winner: Best of the Fest, Environmental & Aquatic Showcase. Ocean City Film Festival, 2024.
Winner: Cinematography. New York Science and Nature Film Festival, 2023
Winner: Cinematography. Nature Without Borders International Film Festival, 2024
Winner: Geological Documentary. Nature Without Borders International Film Festival, 2024
Finalist: Vyre Film Festival, 2023
Honorable Mention: Montreal Independent Film Festival, 2023
Honorable Mention: Best Documentary, Panorama International Indie Film Festival 2023/2024
Official Selection: The Climate Reality Project, New York, 2024
Official Selection: Orlando International Film Festival, 2024
Official Selection: Symbiotic Film Festival, Ukraine, 2023
Official Selection: Nature Without Borders International Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection: Montreal Independent Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection: Wild & Science Film Festival, 2024
Official Selection: Ocean City Film Festival, 2024
Official Selection: Cinema Verde Environmental Film & Arts Festival, 2024
Official Selection: Wake Forest Film Festival, 2024
Official Selection: Project Winterland Film Festival, 2024
Official Selection: Nairobi Design Week, 2024
Official Selection: Vyre Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection: Panorama International Indie Film Festival, 2023/2024
Official Selection: Outer Banks Environmental Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection: Red Rose Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection: Symbiotic Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection: Friday Harbor Film Festival, 2023
Official Selection: New York Science & Nature Film Festival, 2023
ABOUT THE PROJECT
THE SCIENCE
The research for this project is led by the Coastal Critical Zone Network and managed by the Delaware Environmental Institute, with funding from the National Science Foundation. The mission of the project is to develop a fully collaborative, multi-disciplinary study at a network of sites to understand and predict current and future changes in coupled hydrological, ecological, geomorphological, and biogeochemical systems. Learn more about the Coastal Critical Zone Network.
THE FILM
From Director Ben Hemmings: “Salted Earth was born from a collective urgency to unmask the silent crisis of rising sea levels in the Mid-Atlantic. In our pursuit, we found a story that transcends scientific data; one of communities grappling with a looming threat. We made this film to humanize the statistics, to reveal the faces and voices affected by encroaching salt. Our hope is that by showing the humanity within science, Salted Earth compels viewers to not just witness but empathize, fostering awareness, and driving future research projects and solutions to these issues.”
GET INVOLVED
Here are some ways that you can get involved in the research highlighted in Salted Earth:
- Donate to the Delaware Environmental Institute to support undergraduate and graduate students become future coastal resiliency leaders.
- Keep up-to-date with news from the Coastal Critical Zone Network about transformations in the Delmarva region.
- Browse through more Mainspring Media films that highlight extraordinary heroes, fascinating narratives, and the people shaking up their worlds with social, political, and environmental activism.
