Locally-produced documentary Ocean with David Attenborough is being brought to life on stage as a performance with a live orchestra, premiering in Bristol this month and marking the celebrated filmmaker’s 100th year as he reflects how his lifetime has paralleled a “golden age of ocean discovery”. Image above: Ocean With David Attenborough (Credit: Olly Scholey)
Is there any greater national treasure than Sir David Attenborough? Although he doesn’t live in Bristol, our city’s deep ties to natural world storytelling through TV and film means that one of the world’s most feted documentarians will always have a close connection to our region – and the visionary minds behind the lenses, too.
And nowhere will this relationship be more evident than at a very special performance of the 2025 release Ocean with David Attenborough, which is swimming off screen and onto the stage at Bristol Beacon on 24 February for the premier performance of Ocean in Concert with the Welsh National Opera Orchestra.
It features award-winning composer Steven Price’s (Gravity, The Hunt, Our Planet, David Attenborough – A Life on Our Planet) original Ocean with David Attenborough score — which last year won the highly coveted Original Music Score award at the Jackson Wild Media Awards, the highest honour in natural history filmmaking celebrating excellence in conservation storytelling. The score is performed live by orchestra in perfect synchronisation with the film’s spectacular imagery. Conducted by acclaimed Robert Ziegler and joined by a vocal ensemble, Price’s epic score captures the drama, savagery, and beauty of the ocean’s underwater world magnifying the film’s impact, amplifying both its wonder and its urgency.
©Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios
Bristol at heart
Ocean with David Attenborough was co-produced by the multiple award-winning Bristol-based Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios, released globally in May last year to coincide with Attenborough’s 99th birthday; Ocean in Concert marks Sir David Attenborough’s centenary year by bringing to life the message closest to his heart and his defining legacy.
Ocean’s two co-directors Toby Nowlan and Keith Scholey (who live and work in our city) have both worked with Attenborough for many years, and understand the film’s power and significant impact, both in terms of critical acclaim and political influence.
“‘We at Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios are so delighted that Ocean with David Attenborough is coming to Bristol in concert,” Keith told The Bristol Magazine. “This film was a great privilege to make, and we are delighted that it has been seen by so many people either in cinemas or on National Geographic. Even more exciting is that it has brought about real positive change to ocean conservation around the world.” Ocean indeed does has a powerful environmental message, which is deeply personal to Attenborough: “After almost 100 years on the planet, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea,” the great man himself has said.
Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios take viewers on a breath-taking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean.
Like all previous Attenborough documentaries, it is jaw dropping in its scope and beauty, yet as the film’s co-director Toby points out, it is not a typical Attenborough film: “This is not about seeing brand new natural history behaviours. It is the greatest message he’s ever told.”
Ocean reveals that nowhere is more vital to life, or more full of wonder, than the ocean. Attenborough reflects how his lifetime has paralleled a golden age of ocean discovery, revealing how a healthy ocean sustains life on Earth. Stunning cinematography of coral reefs, kelp forests, and the open sea captures not only the ocean’s beauty, but dramatically portrays the brutal threats it faces from destructive fishing and mass coral bleaching in never-before-seen footage. “We planned to use the film as the most powerful tool to show decision makers why protection is good for everybody,” explains Toby. “We had the science, we had the economics, all the stuff for the brain, we got it covered. But what the film does is it speaks to the heart.” Ocean was released to coincide with the UN Ocean Conference (May 2025) to try to influence some commitment. “The hope is real,” Toby adds, “Through making this film we realised that the ocean is capable of spectacular recovery, more than any of us dreamt possible. It’s a different process with the land in that if you protect the ocean, it recovers bigger and faster and fills the surrounding areas with life again… By protecting a third of the ocean, we can fill the sea with life again and that has to be a win for everyone on Earth: a more stable climate, a more breathable atmosphere, booming coastal fishing economies and more marine life.” Attenborough’s message in Ocean remains one of optimism and hope: that our waters have the potential to recover to a glory faster than we had ever imagined.
Ocean in Concert is at Bristol Beacon on 24 February. Tickets were still available at the time of publishing. Watch Ocean with David Attenborough on National Geographic, Disney+ and Hulu streaming platforms.
bristolbeacon.org | silverbackfilms.tv | wno.org.uk
