Film: X Trillion

A film has just been released about a voyage I was involved in organising when I worked for nonprofit sailing and science organisation eXXpedition. At the time, we were a tiny part-time team of three.

What many people don’t realise is there were two voyages that took place back to back. The film is about the first one and I sailed on the second one from Vancouver to Seattle, via the Broken Group. Here’s an article I wrote for Adventurous Ink about it.

X Trillion follows the gruelling journey of eXXpedition’s all-women crew led by Emily Penn, as they sail 3,000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean, through the densest accumulation of ocean plastic on the planet - in order to make the unseen, seen.

The 14 women international crew was made up of scientists, filmmakers, circular-economists, engineers, teachers, packaging designers and creators - but very few were sailors. It is a life-affirming story of adventure, discovery, science, solidarity and a call to action that burns with optimism.

“We were a crew of women with different skills, goals and motivations, brought together to witness and record the true extent of the plastic pollution crisis - with a focus on microplastics and their toxic impact on female bodies in particular. We all emerged transformed by the experience and are committed to telling the story of what we witnessed and working to find solutions.” - Eleanor Church, Director.

The film explores the practical and emotional responses to one of the biggest global challenges of our time, as the crew leave families and land behind, to battle high seas, storms and sea sickness, and carry out cutting-edge microplastics research. For the first time the film turns the camera on the extent of the plastic pollution crisis in one of the most remote places on Earth.

The Premiere kicks off a number of screenings around the UK - find out more and watch the trailer above or at https://www.xtrillionfilm.com/