Filmmaker Ahbra Perry talks with Philippine Tatler about the painstaking and life-changing seven years she had with the documentary "Power of Pearl" and the lessons the world must know from the altruistic South Sea pearl farmers on the front lines of climate change.
Power of Pearl: Farm Beneath The Sea, directed by Ahbra Perry and Taylor Higgins, recently had its preview screening at SM Aura Premier. Attended by guests from society and diplomatic corps, the private film showing was presented by Jewelmer and Philippine Tatler with the aim of showing the furtive life in the pearl farms in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Australia, the growing industry, as well as the alarming state of these islands and the environment as a whole.
The pearl is the barometer for the health of the ocean. Any change in the climate, seas, and acquatic life may have an impact on the pearls. Today, South Sea pearls are farmed in marine waters that boast the greatest biodiversity on the planet, but not for long as the oceans are currently under threat. These may come in many forms like rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns causing super typhoons, pollution and ocean acidification causing mass bleaching to coral reefs, as well as rising sea levels that slowly eats up the islands where the farmers have established their communities for many decades.
Through this film, directors Perry and Higgins hope that more people will be enlightened with the pearl production process, the life of the pearl farmers and their struggles against the forces of nature, and the world's most current and pressing environmental issues. Power of Pearl, is a story about finding the balance between man and nature, so we can preserve and repair the world we have for generations to come.
How was Jewelmer different from other pearl farms you’ve been?
Ahbra Perry: Jewelmer is very unique. You can feel the energy and the attitude… the community is great... and part of what makes Jewelmer so special and so interesting is the passion that they feel, and the heart, and the intention that they have when they’re producing pearls... It’s a community. It carries that spirit of the Philippines [bayanihan] in such a true sense. Everyone is working together with so much love and real beauty coming from all these people and I think that’s what creates beautiful pearls.
You know, the pearl is a time capsule of the nature’s health, of everyone that interacts with that oyster. Anyone that touches or handles that shell and what kind of emotions or intentions they come at it with is going to affect because the oysters are sensitive. It’s going to affect the pearl, it’s going to be recorded in the pearl. I think that’s also what makes pearl farming such a great example or a blueprint for the rest of the world that we can live in a more sustainable fashion, that we can manage and balance. Making a profit, taking care and supporting our people, and also the planet.