LOS ANGELES — When Fisher Stevens approached prominent oceanographer Sylvia Earle about featuring both her life and her work in a documentary, she resisted the idea.
Turning the camera on her efforts to protect the seas was one thing, but putting herself center stage made Earle uneasy, Stevens said.
Actor-filmmaker Stevens managed to persuade her to change her mind, and the result is “Mission Blue,” directed by Stevens and Robert Nixon (co-producer, “Gorillas in the Mist”) and available on Netflix.
“If we want to save the ocean, we have to see it through her eyes and get people engaged through her life and her passion,” Stevens said.
Earle, Time magazine’s first “Hero for the Planet,” is a former chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration whose many honors include the 2011 Royal Geographical Society Gold Medal.
The founder of Mission Blue, among other organizations, Earle’s focus includes creating a global web of “hope spots,” marine sanctuaries in which activities including drilling and commercial fishing are prohibited. A number of such protected ocean areas have been designated during the film’s more than four years of production, Stevens said.
Stevens hopes the documentary’s bluntness paired with Earle’s optimism, encourages individuals and governments to respect the vulnerability of every body of water, whether oceans, rivers or streams.
“I hope people want to get in the water, be careful what they put in it and what fish they eat,” said Stevens. An avid scuba diver since his Florida days starring in Fox’s 1993 series “Key West,” Stevens said he’s seen firsthand how much some fish populations and coral reefs have deteriorated over the years.
The documentary tracks Earle, 79, as she pursues her longtime dedication to exploring and aiding the seas.
