“I wonder if there may be some value in simply honoring this in-between place, acknowledging the space of open possibility where we stand. This is the moment of dissolution before the new form emerges, the imaginal space of potential from which all else will flow. As the marine scientist Sylvia Earle says: the next ten years are the most important in the next ten thousand.“ – Chris Jordan
We appreciate the support and contributions of many individuals who are helping the Midway film get off the ground. You can help as well!
For other options and ways to contribute, please visit our website: http://www.midwayfilm.com/donate.html
If you have additional questions about how you can contribute, please contact us at info@MidwayFilm.com
Many thanks, and we look forward to sharing the results of our work with you soon.
With much gratitude,
Chris
Supporters
- Compton Foundation
- Victoria and Ian Watson, The Watson Family Foundation
- Richard Russell, The Russell Family Foundation
- Claudia Wells, NextNow Collaboratory
- John Shipee and Margaret Blevins
- Charlie Kouns
- Travis Warren, Whipple Hill Communications
- Holly Thomas, Mindzaye Studio
- Plastic Pollution Coalition
Special Thanks to
- Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
- Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
- Raylene Haalelea Kawaiaea
- Justin Carlson, Carlson Media
- Matrix Professional Video Systems, Vancouver, Canada
- Koerner Camera, Seattle, Washington
- Lighthaus Camera, Honolulu
- Giro Sunglasses
- Global Reef
- Louie Psihoyos, director of “The Cove“
- Oceanic Preservation Society
8 Comments
Chris,
My family lived on Midway from 1976 – 1977 when it was still a Naval Refueling depot for planes and ships crossing the Pacific. I was a small boy at the time, but remember the “gooney birds” and how afraid I was of their stature. Beautiful in flight, but not the most graceful when landing.
Your work has special meaning as I’ve lived there and remember Midway at a more pristine time. Words cannot describe the horror that your pictures and video so vividly present. As guests on this planet, we should be ashamed of ourselves.
Keep up the phenomenal work and I hope it causes change!
Matt
You write “We are at a mid-way place. On a remote and isolated island in the middle of the Pacific, twelve-hundred miles northwest of Hawaii.” Unless you mean Hawaii Island, which I doubt, you seem to be referring to the island chain – and Midway is part of the Hawaiian archipelago, not separate from it.
Dear Chris and friends,
I have been made aware of the Midway Island plastic pollution a couple of months ago through photo’s which were published in the Sunday Times magazine. At first I though the plastic inside the albatross chicks were ‘made’ by an artist until I read the accompanied text… I am deeply moved by this awful and disturbing situation.
As a German artist living in Ireland I want to try and raise awareness to the plight of the creatures who die because of our waste and the way we live our lives.
The best way to do this seems to be by way of centering a body of art work around this topic, exhibiting it and bringing public attention to it.
We have a litter problem in Ireland as well and the beach were I live with my family north of Dublin is also littered with plastic washed unto the shores or dumped there. I have recently collaborated with a taxidermist on a new project relating to the plastic pollution. I have collected small pieces of plastic from the beach locally and made casts out of it, which the taxidermist incerted into the dead body of a seagull which he found on the same beach where the plastic was found. Fortunately unlike the albatrosses the seagulls don’t seem to mistake the plastic for food and there seems no evidence of plastic in their stomachs. But the seagull looks to be the closest bird we have here to an albatross and hence my decision to use a seagull as an example of the albatross tragedy in the Pacific.
This new project is in its genesis stage. I imagine it will take me up to two years to create the work to properly highlight this dilemma.
In time if you were interested I could show some of the moving footage recored by you in Midway accompanied with the art work.
I hope to hear back from you in your own time and best of luck with the work you do.
Kind regards, Thomas Brezing
Wish I could donate far more to this wonderful project. Like many others on this site, I too lived on Midway while my dad was stationed there, starting in 1970. Unfortunately, I was only 6 months old when we arrived and we left before I turned 3. So I remember nothing. But we have loads of pictures, instead of memories, and for that I feel very lucky. We called them “Gooney Birds” back then, and I apparently liked to put my foot out with my baby shoe and let the chicks nip at my toes. Hard to imagine something like that now.
Best of luck with the fundraising and the awareness raising. Keep up the good work.
Deeply disturbing footage.
But what is actually being done to remove this plastic raft?
Who is doing anything to prevent the build up of plastic and garbage in the oceans?
If the answer is nothing and no-one, then your effort and jaunts to make movies is pointless. The garbage and debris will build up and these birds will become extinct, 1000′s of miles away from humans.
This is so sad and shocking and I thank you for doing this work! It makes people be aware of what they do. I was wondering if the scientists could find a bacteria or other solution to dissolve the plastic to get it away from the earth again and transform it. Do you know anything about this? Now the plastic is everywhere, in our food and in the sand and so difficult to get rid of it. And the computer I am typing on is made of plastic and other poison! And we need to have options as a consumer to decide for products that are free of plastic, or are made of a plastic that dissolves after a certain time or is made out of plants, as they already are trying to do I heard.
I thank you and wish you all the best for your projects!
Mariam
Hello Chris I just want to say first how sad that video made me feel but thanks to your awareness is hopefully happening… I have just lost my job I wish I could donate, You are doing a amazing thing by bringing this forward, you should really try & send this to Ellen Degeneress I think she could possibly help please keep me posted, I am watching and caring, however I am in London,ontario Canada plase keep up the good work
Lisa
I am so moved by your work as former pacific archaeologist, I appreciate your methodological approach. One of the things that concerns me is the plastic and rubbish problem around the globe and here in Hawaii. I am curious about the marine clean up efforts from the horrific tsunami in Japan and solutions in third world countries for a profitable recycling programs. I have taught my kids to be responsible for their rubbish and they will be the first ones to run down the beach and thus save a marine life. I think the main thing in Hawaii and the states is if each single person is responsible for their own rubbish the world would be a cleaner safer place. I often wanted to film people who unconsciously throw out cigarette butts and other rubbish. What a great aspect to include in your film!
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