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Netflix Acquires Global Warming Documentary Chasing Coral

First there was Chasing Ice, now there is Chasing Coral.
Up close and personal.
Rainer von Brandis via Getty Images
Up close and personal.

Netflix's latest purchase is an extremely topical one. They've acquired global rights to Chasing Coral, a documentary that examines the current state of the world's coral reefs.

The doco is curently showing at the Sundance Film Festival and is a follow up to director Jeff Orlowski's 2012 film Chasing Ice that looked at the planet's melting ice-caps.

The film is about the destruction of the world's coral reefs and the acceleration of coral bleaching around the world, aiming to educate and raise awareness on the matter.

"Chasing Coral taps into the collective will and wisdom of an ad man, a self-proclaimed coral nerd, top-notch camera designers, and renowned marine biologists as they invent the first time-lapse camera to record bleaching events as they happen," Sundance's website explains.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the topical film shows a team of people documenting the mass death of coral reefs as they race against time.

Orlowski said that in partnering with Netflix they'd wanted to make sure the film found the right home, especially considering the global scale of the story it's telling.

"In partnering with Netflix, we're excited about working together to make a huge impact around the world," he said to The Hollywood Reporter.

What is coral bleaching?

Coral bleaching happens when corals are stressed by a change in conditions.

They release a symbiotic algae living in their tissues, which causes them to turn completely white.

These changes can include light, temperature or nutrients. In some cases coral can survive a bleaching event, but they also can be subject to mortality from it.

Source: National Ocean Service

Netflix has acquired global rights to stream Chasing Coral and has confirmed it will be available in Australia, but is yet to confirm a release date.

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