Ocean Governance

What does equity and justice look like in the world of ocean governance? The films in this section offer diverse answers to this question, connected by a close attention to the colonial and imperial histories underlying contemporary political systems. These narratives trace legacies of dispossession and erasure, making visible the many violences of the state that materialize in subtle - and not so subtle - ways. At the same time, they refuse to simplify and idealize local relations, highlighting instead the complex and often ambiguous interpersonal politics at play. These stories also span multiple levels of scale, as they reveal how layered local, regional, national, and transnational governance shape and reshape the contours of everyday life. As pressures of state governmentality intensify, the films here offer alternative visions of sovereignty and self-determination, with hope for better futures.