Why Andrew Forrest bankrolled David Attenborough's last great project
London: Andrew Forrest's voice sharpens with urgency when he talks about the ocean.
'We are right on the brink of extinction of species across our oceanic planet,' the billionaire Fortescue Metals Group chairman warns. 'It's an ignorant race – a short-sighted, policymaker-driven race to fish out the oceans before someone else does.'
That passion for the ocean – rooted in his PhD in marine ecology and a lifetime connection to Australia's waters – has found a global amplifier in Sir David Attenborough.
Last night, their shared vision came to life with the world premiere of Ocean with David Attenborough at London's Royal Festival Hall.
Backed by Minderoo Pictures, Forrest's impact film company, the documentary shines a stark spotlight on the devastation caused by industrial overfishing, with Attenborough's unmistakable narration guiding audiences through the science, destruction and solutions.
Minderoo was the first to invest in Ocean, committing £1.5 million ($3,078,000) of the film's £3.8 million budget. Forrest says he was motivated not just by the need to finance the film but by its potential to raise awareness about the global issue of overfishing.
'It's about using storytelling to shine a spotlight on overfishing, a crisis that demands global action,' Forrest says. 'It shows the hideous, wasteful destruction, the short-sightedness of legislators, the lack of science behind decisions to allow bottom trawling anywhere in the world.'
The premiere attracted a high-level guest list reflecting the film's global significance: King Charles III, former US climate envoy John Kerry, National Geographic's Dr Sylvia Earle, the United Nations' Arsenio Dominguez and, of course, the man himself, Attenborough, who turns 99 this week (May 8).
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