For filmmaker Lia Komakhidze, the Black Sea is a place of deep personal connection—a source of childhood joy she later shared with her own children. But reports of environmental decline raised a pressing question: What has become of my sea?
This question sparks a journey with marine scientist, Graham Patterson, to the Georgian coast. There, they uncover a story far more complex than they imagined. They speak to scientists who explain the challenges presented by six countries sharing the Black Sea coastline and pollution flowing from many of Europe’s great rivers; they connect with local fishermen who speak of dwindling catches, and meet divers who reveal the silent crisis unfolding beneath the waves. It soon becomes clear that the fate of Georgia's coast, a historic crossroads of cultures, is not in its hands alone. The problem is a crisis of shared waters.
The investigation expands from the local to the global, taking them to the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Here, they explore the universal principle at play, the "Tragedy of the Commons"—the challenge of protecting resources that belong to everyone, and how this principle applies in particular to water-based ecosystems.
A Light in the Black connects a personal story to a universal one. The film argues that cooperation is not only the antithesis of conflict but our only environmental path forward, perhaps especially for our oceans and seas.
The documentary unfolds across two distinct locations:
The Black Sea Coast, Georgia: From pristine coastlines to growing cities, we explore the ancient shores that hold incredible beauty to be protected, but also a creeping environmental crisis.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress: At this international forum, the story shifts from a specific country to the universal theme of global environmental politics and cooperation.
Georgia Filming Locations