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Sea Life Savers opens environmental film festival in Gabon

RTD’s documentary Sea Life Savers has opened the Masuku Film Festival in Gabon. It features films and videos covering  environmental issues.

The Masuku Film Festival is being held for the seventh year and is supported by the Gabonese government that has stepped up its efforts to fight elephant poaching in its national parks. Russia’s embassy in Gabon is taking an active part in this year’s festival, with 2019 declared the ‘year of Russia’ in Africa.

Moscow is seeking to revive and enhance its ties with African nations and last month, Russia donated weapons to help Gabonese wildlife rangers combat poachers. Nearly 60 percent of all remaining forest elephants live in Gabon where, in their search for prized ivory, ruthless poachers have decimated their numbers over the last decade.

Natalya Kadyrova’s film, Sea Life Savers, meets staff and volunteers with the Sea Shepherd conservation group and reveals their endless battles at sea against illegal fishing.