Farming the Reef is a documentary that explores the entangled relationships between humans and the ocean in Diani, Kenya. The film centers on the practices of coral restoration, following both local fishermen and international conservationists as they navigate shifting roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
For fishermen, the ocean is a place of survival, identity, and inherited knowledge. Generations have learned to read the water through currents, landmarks, and rhythms of tides, shaping an embodied way of knowing the sea. Yet these traditions are challenged by declining fish stocks, new regulations, and conservation projects that are often designed from outside the community.
The film also follows conservationists, many of whom are divers working to restore coral through underwater nurseries. Their efforts are rooted in the urgency of protecting biodiversity, but they are not without tension. Questions of employment, communication, and authority complicate how restoration unfolds on the ground. Some fishermen have even transitioned into roles as “reef rangers,” embodying the nuance between conservation and livelihood.
By weaving together these perspectives, Farming the Reef highlights the ocean as both a site of conflict and collaboration. The reef becomes a metaphorical field: fishers harvest from it, divers plow it through restoration work, and marine life is both cultivated and protected within it. Rather than offering a simple solution, the film invites viewers to reflect on the complexities of conservation in practice, where multiple ways of knowing and caring for the sea coexist.
Bio
Celine has always loved being creative, whether through drawing, designing, or filming. She is driven by a big curiosity for the world around her. Maps, with their ways of telling stories about places and connections, have always fascinated her. Her interests stretch across continents, from a love for South America and cultural preservation to a growing engagement with ecology and environmental change.
For her most recent film, Celine travelled to the Kenyan coast to join and document a coral restoration program. With her work, she hopes to raise awareness about protecting our oceans, but also the livelihoods tied to them.
