The documentary How Deep Is Your Love, directed by Eleanor Mortimer, opens in selected UK cinemas on October 2, offering a look at the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean through the eyes of a Natural History Museum (NHM) research team and an underwater robot named Isis. According to filmmakers, the project explores human perspectives on Earth by switching between scientists and deep-sea species in an area targeted for industrial mining.
Journey to the Clarion Clipperton Zone With the Natural History Museum Team
The research vessel sailed for 12 days to reach the remote Clarion Clipperton Zone, located between Hawaii and Mexico, according to production details. Once on site, it takes the underwater robot Isis five hours to make the 5-kilometer (3-mile) descent to the ocean floor. Sunlight cannot penetrate this region, where mineral-rich nodules make the seabed a prime target for industrial mining operations.
Scientists estimate that only 0.001% of the deep sea floor—defined as depths greater than 500 meters where sunlight fades to total darkness—has been directly observed by humans. Director Eleanor Mortimer noted that the film serves as an ode to the taxonomists and biologists who spend hours counting microscopic animal legs. Identifying a species and collecting its DNA is a painstaking process that can take up to 14 years, according to Mortimer.
Did you know? It can take up to 14 years for scientists to formally identify, name, and collect DNA from a newly discovered deep-sea species due to the extreme challenges of deep-sea taxonomy.
Balancing Scientific Wonder and the Threat of Deep-Sea Mining
Unlike activist documentaries like Seaspiracy or traditional nature series in the style of David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, Mortimer’s film blends dreamlike narration with the real-time reactions of researchers watching screens linked to a camera 5,000 meters below. During the expedition, researchers spot neon pink sea cucumbers dubbed “Barbie Pig,” alongside brightly colored amorphous creatures given informal monikers like the “Headless Chicken Monster” and the “Psychedelic Elvis Worm.”
The documentary also captures the ethical dilemmas faced by researchers. To study certain species, specimens must be brought to the surface—a journey the organisms cannot survive. “I feel a bit like the Nicole Kidman character in Paddington,” one researcher says in the film, according to production notes: “I want that bear in a jar on my desk!” Another researcher admits to dreaming of tucking sea cucumbers into bed.
This race against time unfolds against the backdrop of the ISA. Earlier this year, the ISA concluded negotiations without establishing a regulatory framework or securing the environmental data thresholds needed to govern seabed mining.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does How Deep Is Your Love release in the UK?
The film opens in selected UK cinemas on October 2.
What is the Clarion Clipperton Zone?
It is a remote, biodiversity-rich region of the Pacific Ocean situated between Hawaii and Mexico that is targeted for potential deep-sea mineral mining.
Who directed the documentary?
The film is directed by Eleanor Mortimer, with Muriel Rabone serving as science adviser and co-producer.
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