Zanzibar: Trouble in Paradise

In Zanzibar, women who found financial independence through seaweed farming are watching climate change take it away. Their transition to sea-sponge cultivation is a story of adaptation worth telling properly.

Take custom-built holographic camera systems into the field and let the technology be invisible to the subjects — their authenticity, vulnerability, and strength carrying the film.

I led the production with a frequent creative partner, drawing on our prior Africa-based work — from choosing the story through field production and the premiere.

A small team handled first-of-its-kind holographic capture in working conditions on the water, keeping the rig out of the way of the people in front of it.

Premiered at Tribeca 2022 inside a custom-fabricated set, debuting the world's largest holographic display with Looking Glass Factory. Apple invited us to Cupertino to present the film and process to their iPhone team.