The famed Outer Banks of North Carolina are a slim and moving line of sand in the open Atlantic and a destination for vacationers seeking beaches, sun and surf. Many travelers think they know these islands, but south of Ocracoke Inlet rises a

luminous bar of sand sixty miles in extent with no roads, no bridges and no hotels. These wild, remote beaches of Cape Lookout National Seashore are one of the few remaining natural barrier island systems in the world.

At once exaltation and elegy, "Ribbon of Sand" profiles this seascape and the transitory islands doomed to disappear.

As environmental pioneer Rachel Carson notes in her 1954 article The Real World Around Us, "The more clearly we focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."

More than half a century after she wrote these words, North Carolina's Outer Banks are imperiled by rising sea levels due to global warming. Carson's writing, full of wonder and warning, frames Ribbon of Sand, a lyrical and beautifully filmed natural history documentary produced by award-winning filmmaker John Grabowska (Crown of the Continent, Remembered Earth). The Washington Post calls the film "poetic...both intimate and sweeping."

Strong storms like hurricanes or northeasters can slice open inlets in the sand barrier islands, allowing seawater to flow in and out of the estuaries.

Acclaimed actress Meryl Streep interprets the writings by Rachel Carson, and Academy Award® winner Todd Boekelheide composed an original orchestral score for the film.

Read the complete program description

 

[NOTE: The beautiful Outer Banks is the backdrop for the upcoming Warner Bros. feature, "Nights in Rodanthe", starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane (release date September 2008).]