Short Films Screening - Exploring Kelp Forests along California’s Coast

Join The Mendocino Film Festival at North Coast Kelpfest! for a screening of three newly released short films: Ghvtlh-k’vsh shu-’srnelh-’ii (Kelp Guardians), Holdfast Together: Keepers of California’s Kelp, Harvest to Heal, and a sneak peek of The Pacific Coast Ocean Restoration Initiative’s (PCOR) film on marine restoration in California. This roughly 90-minute program will be followed by a panel of experts and filmmakers. $15/ticket

The films

The Ghvtlh-k’vsh shu’-srnelh-‘i~ (Kelp Guardians) project represents a collaboration between the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (TDN) and three key partners: Reef Check Foundation, Sunken Seaweed and the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute at Cal Poly Humboldt. As first stewards of the land and sea since time immemorial, the Nation has been and always will be conservationists grounded in a holistic perspective towards stewardship, restoration and understanding nature’s intricate interconnectedness and balance.

Holdfast Together: Keepers of California’s Kelp highlights the grassroots effort to restore California’s collapsing kelp forests. The film follows a community of divers, marine scientists, and conservationists in Northern California fighting to bring these vital ocean ecosystems back to life.

Harvest to Heal follows Santa Barbara scientists, commercial urchin divers and conservationists as they work together to restore kelp forests on San Miguel Island. By harvesting purple sea urchins from urchin barrens, the team seeks to revive kelp forests and explore solutions that benefit both marine life and coastal communities.

Sneak Peek: The Pacific Coast Ocean Restoration Initiative (PCOR) is a network of partners aimed at catalyzing, coordinating, and implementing marine restoration efforts across the California coast. This trailer prefaces a series of five videos to be released in late 2026 and early 2027, diving into the projects and people of PCOR working together on the white abalone, sunflower sea star, bull kelp forests and workforce development.