IBU
MENDING THE NET
This film tells the story of a small fishing village in Northern Bali fighting to restore the reef that once sustained them.
By watching the film, you're supporting the fishermen and independent filmmaking.
About IBU
A Village at a Turning Point
For generations, the fishermen of this small coastal village depended on the reef for their livelihood. But years of destructive fishing practices and environmental pressure had pushed the ecosystem to the brink.
Fish catches declined. The reef that once fed the village was disappearing.
Instead of giving up, the community chose a different path.
Together they began restoring the reef, protecting their waters, and rebuilding the ecosystem that sustains them.
IBU is the story of that transformation.
Why This Film Matters
Across the globe, small fishing communities face the same challenge. When coral reefs collapse, livelihoods disappear with them.
But stories like this show that recovery is possible.
When local communities take ownership of conservation, reefs can recover, fish return, and the balance between people and the ocean can be restored.
This film exists to document that hope.
Behind the Scenes of Metropolis
Metropolis was created over months of filming across tropical reef systems, with most of the story taking shape on one special reef in Indonesian waters. Additional footage was captured in the Maldives and Timor Leste.
Built from more than 300 hours of underwater footage, the film is the result of patience, repetition, and close observation. Instead of staging moments, the process was about returning again and again until the reef revealed its own stories.
This approach allowed the film to capture intimate behavior and turn scattered encounters into a single day in Reef City.
