small selkie 

Carefree and curious Skye dreams of being a mermaid. But when she discovers that plastic pollution threatens her future home, she embarks on a quest to save the seas.

Why Now?

“Storytellers move people--they can reach out, grab hearts and compel them to act,” said Gina McCarthy, President and CEO of NRDC. “For too long the environmental community has relied on scientists to communicate the facts about climate change--but facts don’t ignite emotions the way that good films and TV can. With the help of Hollywood’s finest storytellers, we can change the climate narrative and grow the movement that will solve this crisis once and for all.”

We may not be 'Hollywood's finest storytellers' (yet...), but we have a team of incredibly talented and innovative filmmakers who share the same vision, to create a film that moves audiences to care more deeply about this global environmental issue. 

Plastic pollution is still one of the biggest issues we face. We know that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. It is hard to not feel that, as an individual in this fight for our planet, our actions are insignificant in the grand scheme of achieving change. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Plastic is durable and there is already so much of it in the world - we can actively choose to reuse and repurpose what already exists! The plastic pollution crisis asks for us to get really creative on an individual and collective basis.

Of course facts and statistics are important, but often it's difficult to even begin to comprehend what it actually, tangibly means. This is where storytelling holds great power. We want to connect to an audience with this subject matter on an emotional level; to move, challenge and motivate, by posing questions and challenging perspectives.

We are interested in how we can tell environmental stories through fiction and want to highlight the power of individual action and the progressive and inspiring minds and spirits of the children and youth of our world. Plastic pollution is a real and pressing issue and we wanted to root this story in reality. This is a way that we find our voice in this fight – through storytelling, writing, filmmaking and creating conversations through art. 

The Story

small selkie is a short film that tells the story of eight-year old Skye who lives by the sea and dreams of becoming a mermaid. As an only child with a vivid imagination, Skye spends hours in her room drawing vibrant pictures of underwater creatures.

One day, while collecting shells on the beach, Skye sees an extraordinarily beautiful creature appear by the water’s edge – a selkie, struggling to get to land, with her tail wrapped tightly in netting and plastic rubbish clinging to her body. She thrashes about in an attempt to get out of the water – but with so much plastic weighing her down, she eventually admits defeat and quickly disappears.

In this split-second Skye sees the enormity of the problem – the selkie is suffering because of all the plastic polluting the sea. Skye is completely heartbroken; and as her sadness turns to anger she’s spurred into action and scoops up as much of the plastic rubbish on the beach as she can to prevent it from ending up in the sea.

Over the coming days Skye collects all the plastic she can find and brings it home, hiding it out of sight – in her dress-up trunk, in cupboards, under her bed, behind curtains. But it isn’t long before there's too much – and a great wave of plastic spills out of all the secret hiding places, leaving behind a trail of trash. This angers her father who insists that it must all go, tomorrow.

A tearful Skye tries to explain to her father why she combed the beach and picked up all the plastic she could find. As she cleans up the mess at home, through the power of her imagination and the magic of animation, layered onto the film in vibrant colours, Skye uses her imagination to turn the bits of plastic into majestic animals of the sea. Skye falls asleep amidst her work, plastic still strewn around her. Her father peers into her room, moved by her efforts. Skye’s mermaid tail costume catches his eye, and an idea forms.

The next day, Skye’s father takes her to the beach and presents her with a gift: her mermaid tail beautifully decorated with all the colourful, shiny bits of plastic she'd picked up. He helps her put it on and holds her as she pushes through the waves and swishes her tail. In the distance, Skye catches a glimpse of a selkie's tail disappearing into the water.