For decades, Sir David Attenborough has brought the natural world to our doorsteps. His incredible documentaries have given us unprecedented looks at animals and their habitats. For the last few years, he’s been in company with Netflix. His latest project for the streaming site, Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet, is not a celebration of Earth. The documentary film’s first trailer offers a dire warning about the catastrophic damage we’re doing to our home world. Not all hope is lost, though. Because it’s also a call for us to fix things before it’s too late.
“Breaking Boundaries tells the story of the most important scientific discovery of our time – that humanity has pushed Earth beyond the boundaries that have kept Earth stable for 10,000 years, since the dawn of civilization. The 75-minute film takes the audience on a journey of discovery of planetary thresholds we must not exceed, not just for the stability of our planet, but for the future of humanity. It offers up the solutions we can and must put in place now if we are to protect Earth’s life support systems.”
Directed by newcomer Jon Clay, Breaking Boundaries also stars Johan Rockström. He’s a professor of Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam and Chief Scientific Advisor for Conservation International. He and Attenborough will examine the collapse of Earth’s biodiversity. That will include plenty of shots, both beautiful and worrisome, from around our planet. But the film will also incorporate plenty of helpful graphics to try and make sense of the science for everyone.
Despite what it asks of us, it’s hard to watch this trailer without getting angry. But the more important issue this documentary will raise is what we can do to make things better. And the urgency with which we need to act. Which we most certainly do. Because we don’t want David Attenborough’s nature films to be the only way we’ll ever get to appreciate our world.
Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet comes to Netflix June 4.