The Big Sea to Screen at Cornwall Film Festival in Newquay

Award-winning Cornish documentary The Big Sea is set to screen at Cornwall Film Festival on Thursday 27th November at Newquay’s Lighthouse Cinema, bringing a hard look at surfing’s hidden connection to Cancer Alley and the toxic reality of Neoprene production.

The feature, made by filmmakers and lifelong surfers Chris Nelson, Demi Taylor and Lewis Arnold, has already shaken the ten billion dollar global surf industry and contributed to the closure of a major petrochemical plant at the centre of its story.

An Industry Under the Spotlight

The documentary examines the environmental and human impact of Neoprene, the synthetic rubber used in most wetsuits.

“The majority of wetsuits on the market today are made of Neoprene, a synthetic material born out of a carcinogenic chemical process so toxic that the California government requires wetsuits to carry health warnings,” says Cornish producer and writer Demi Taylor. She explains that they discovered “there was just one chemical plant producing chloroprene rubber, aka Neoprene, in the whole of the USA and it was located on the banks of the Mississippi in an area known as Cancer Alley.”

Demi says the team was shocked to learn that communities around this factory “are exposed to the highest cancer risk in the USA, fifty times the national average due to toxic emissions from the plant.”

Chris Nelson says he and Demi had spent more than two decades in and around the surf industry and were stunned that the issue had never been exposed before. “When we learned of the horrendous link between the wetsuits we use for our enjoyment and the impact the production of Neoprene was having on both people and planet, we knew this was a story we had to tell.”

📷Mike Lay

A Global Award Winner with Cornish Roots

The Big Sea has screened at 24 film festivals around the world and collected 13 awards including Best Film, Best Feature and Best Campaign. The story explores environmental pollution, greenwashing and social justice while highlighting natural rubber alternatives that “literally grow on trees.”

Demi says that at the start of filming, “just four surf brands were Neoprene-free including Cornish B Corp, Finisterre. Now, thanks in part to the campaigning of The Big Sea, more than 30 additional global brands have come on-line with natural rubber wetsuits including Cornish companies like Gul and C-Skins.”

She adds that earlier this year, the factory at the centre of the story ceased production, citing a global downturn in Neoprene demand as one of the causes, “a profound reminder of the power we all have to effect change.”

Cornish Voices and Creative Talent

The documentary features insights from surfers, scientists, environmental campaigners and industry insiders, including well-known Cornish figures. Chris says they are proud to include SAS Co-Founder Chris Hines MBE, Finisterre founder Tom Kay and pro surfer Mike Lay. He adds that the production brought together “incredible local creative talent from cinematography, graphics and animation to grading and post production, this is a Cornish collaboration at heart.

📷Cornwall Filmmakers Chris Nelson & Demi Taylor

Praise from Across the Surf and Environmental World

The film has drawn strong reactions, with journalist and Channel 4 presenter Keme Nzerem calling it “one of the most important outdoor films of all time.”

Other reactions include:

• “The film that changed an industry.” Ian Stewart, former CMO Xcel Wetsuits

• “Exposing the devastating environmental impact of Neoprene, more than a film, this is a call to action.” Oliver Wallien, Co-Founder Wallien

• “A powerful piece of work.” Sir Jonathon Porritt, Environmentalist

• “Beautifully made and outstandingly delivered.” Will Rose, Led By Donkeys

• “A very powerful and important documentary with robust investigative journalism and research.” Steve Scott, Kendal Mountain Festival Director

• “The most focussed 70 minutes of environmental and social campaigning by surfers ever.” Chris Hines MBE, Surfers Against Sewage Co-Founder

• “An extraordinary piece of work exploring environmental racism.” Matt Barr, Looking Sideways

Screening Details

The Big Sea screens at Cornwall Film Festival on Thursday 27th November at Lighthouse Cinema, Newquay.
Tickets are available through the festival website: Cornwall Film Festival

About The Big Sea

The film exposes the toxic link between surfing and Neoprene production, exploring environmental racism, social justice and greenwashing. Directed by Chris Nelson and Lewis Arnold and produced by Demi Taylor, it asks whether the 2820 million dollar wetsuit industry will end its “toxic relationship with Neoprene” and whether surfing can use its influence to #saynotoneoprene.