‘The Coral Rescuers’ Berkeley premiere and Q&A

Monday, October 5, 5:00 pm, BAMPFA
RSVP here.

A team of scientists and reef guardians races to save Florida’s last corals from extinction as climate change threatens their survival.

40 minute screening followed by Q&A with director Jason Spingarn-Koff in conversation with ecologist Rachel Carlson.

Read our recent interview “Flipping the script: A Q&A with Jason Spingarn-Koff about his new film “The Coral Rescuers” and what it’s like to get back into the director’s chair.”

About the speakers

Professor Jason Spingarn-Koff

Jason Spingarn-Koff is a filmmaker, journalist, and Professor and Knight Chair of Climate Journalism at UC Berkeley, working to transform how climate stories are told. He recently directed The Coral Rescuers (2026), and he is an Executive Producer of The Los Angeles Times’ Oscar-winning series Short Docs. He previously spent seven years at Netflix as Director of Original Documentary Programming, overseeing more than 100 global films and series and earning four Oscars for the company. Earlier, he founded the New York Times’ Op-Docs, winning two Emmys and a Peabody Award. His feature debut, Life 2.0, premiered at Sundance. Through journalism and filmmaking, Spingarn-Koff has helped reshape public understanding of the natural world and humanity’s role in confronting the climate crisis.

Rachel Carlson

Rachel Carlson is an interdisciplinary coastal ecologist who studies the effects of climate change on nearshore organisms and human livelihoods. She combines approaches from marine spatial ecology (geospatial science, remote sensing) and ocean governance to identify just and equitable strategies for increasing coastal resilience under climate change. Dr. Carlson’s research group, the Coastal Climate Resilience lab, addresses topics including coastal microclimates and refugia under climate change, marine spatial planning to protect nearshore ecosystems, land-sea ecosystem connectivity, and policy interventions to support species restoration and coastal livelihoods.

Co-sponsored by: