Breathing New Life into Our Oceans: "Coral in Focus" Illuminates Hope for Reefs

A compelling new documentary, “Coral in Focus,” took center stage at the United Nations Ocean Conference 2025 (UNOC) in Nice, offering a powerful glimpse into the critical efforts to restore our planet's ailing coral reefs. Premiering at Ocean House on World Oceans Day, June 8th, this film, a collaboration between tech giant Samsung and marine conservation innovators Seatrees, isn't just a story; it's a testament to human ingenuity and the urgent call to action.

The screening was more than just a cinematic event; it was a rallying point, followed by a vibrant panel discussion featuring luminaries in marine science, conservation, and technology. The energy in the room was palpable, reflecting a shared commitment to safeguarding these vital underwater ecosystems.

Award-winning filmmaker Quentin van den Bossche masterfully directs “Coral in Focus,” which chronicles the tireless work of scientists, engineers, and local heroes on the front lines of coral reef preservation. These intricate underwater cities, often unseen by many, are lifelines, supporting up to a billion people and a staggering quarter of all marine life. This impactful work is a direct extension of a broader initiative announced at Galaxy Unpacked in January 2025, where Samsung unveiled its groundbreaking partnership with Seatrees. Together, they are supporting coastal ecosystem restoration in communities across Fiji, Indonesia, and the United States, harnessing the power of Galaxy camera technology to meticulously document and aid marine environment recovery.

The documentary powerfully underscores the dire threats facing coral reefs while simultaneously showcasing how innovative technology and global collaboration can truly make a difference for our precious marine ecosystems.

The Unseen Crisis Beneath the Waves

The ocean's warming embrace has shattered records, leading to a devastating reality: over 80% of the world's reefs have succumbed to mass bleaching. When corals bleach, they aren't just losing their vibrant hues; they're losing their very essence – the life-sustaining algae that nourish them.

This silent crisis, largely hidden from public view, casts a long shadow over biodiversity, food security, and the resilience of our coastlines. While long-term climate action remains the cornerstone of coral reef protection, immediate restoration efforts, empowered by cutting-edge technology, offer a crucial lifeline, helping these delicate structures withstand rising ocean temperatures.

A Galaxy Smartphone's Underwater Vision

Samsung, in a visionary partnership with Seatrees, a non-profit dedicated to marine ecosystem restoration, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, a global authority in reef research, has pioneered a new frontier in coral restoration. Their innovation? "Ocean Mode," a specialized camera feature meticulously crafted for this collaboration. This groundbreaking tool was developed, introduced, and rigorously tested in the real-world conditions of Indonesia and Fiji, establishing a credible foundation for broader scientific application and making this powerful technology more accessible than ever before.

By equipping more scientists, conservationists, and even citizen scientists with the ability to easily photograph, map, and monitor reefs, Ocean Mode has the potential to dramatically scale restoration efforts, empowering individuals worldwide to protect more reefs, in more locations, with far greater impact.

Innovation with Tangible Results

Ocean Mode transforms the everyday Galaxy S24 Ultra into a sophisticated mobile marine research tool, capable of capturing breathtaking, high-resolution images even in the challenging depths of the ocean. It ingeniously corrects the pervasive blue and green hues typical of underwater photography, delivering a remarkably accurate representation of coral health and diversity.

The camera intelligently adjusts shutter speed and leverages multi-frame image processing to minimize motion blur caused by water currents or diver movement, ensuring crisp, detailed images. Its interval shooting capability is a game-changer, automatically capturing thousands of images in a single dive, dramatically boosting both efficiency and consistency. These invaluable images can then be used to generate intricate 3D models of coral reefs using photogrammetry, providing researchers with an incredibly powerful way to visualize and study the drivers of reef structure and health over time.

The past year has yielded truly extraordinary results. Through these impactful coral restoration initiatives, 17 3D models of coral reefs have been created with the collaborative efforts of scientists and Samsung, providing crucial data to analyze the impact of restoration efforts and validate the precision of Galaxy devices for photogrammetry. In total, Seatrees project partners have planted over 14,046 coral fragments, successfully restoring an impressive 10,705 square meters of vital coral reef habitat.

A Premiere with Profound Purpose

The "Coral in Focus" premiere at Ocean House, in partnership with Project Everyone, was a melting pot of brilliant minds – scientists, storytellers, and sustainability leaders – all united in a powerful conversation about the pivotal role technology and global collaboration play in shaping the future of coral reefs.

“Ocean Mode became its own character in the documentary,” shared Quentin van den Bossche, the film's director, highlighting the unique role the technology played in the narrative. “This helped us illustrate some of the complex, specific challenges that reef conservationists encounter. And showing the difference between photos taken with and without Ocean Mode helped ground the technology in something visual and even emotional. This is where the impact of partnerships among companies, research institutes, and nonprofits truly comes to life.”

Michael Stewart, co-founder of Seatrees, emphasized the practical benefits: “A key focus of the coral restoration efforts is being able to monitor what’s working and what’s not. And that starts with capturing high-quality images of our supported reefs. Our local partners have really appreciated Ocean Mode because it has improved their ability to capture higher-quality images with Galaxy phones to make the 3D models created by the scientists at Scripps more accurate.”

Daniel Wangpraseurt, Ph.D., associate research scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, underscored the broader societal impact: “Mobile technology is a powerful way to connect communities with ecosystems they may never physically encounter but are deeply tied to through climate, biodiversity and cultural heritage. Smartphones are now capable of taking high-resolution imagery to help generate more accurate 3D models. They also hold unique potential to increase the pace at which we share this information with people around the world who may never get to experience a coral reef themselves.”

Cassie Smith, senior manager of Corporate Sustainability and U.S. Public Affairs of Samsung Electronics America, expressed Samsung's pride in the initiative: “Through our partnership with Seatrees, we saw how Galaxy technology could play a role not just in responsible sourcing but in supporting coral reef restoration. The documentary tells that story beautifully – showing what happens when like-minded partners, engineers, scientists and local communities come together with shared purpose and the right tools.”

Lefteris Arapakis, co-founder of Enaleia, highlighted the crucial role of the private sector: “It’s essential for the private sector to be involved and help get impactful solutions off the ground. We need all parties working together to protect and scale ocean conservation efforts. I’m especially excited about Ocean Mode – tools like this make our work more efficient and help us create greater impact.”

Dana Habib, associate at the Institute for Integrated Transitions, succinctly captured the sentiment of many attendees: “It was a beautiful film and I love how it left us with a sense of hope and something we could do about the problem.”

The engaging discussion was expertly moderated by Alex Heath, managing director and U.S. head of Social Impact & Sustainability at Edelman. Attendees also had the unique opportunity to explore stunning 3D reef models generated from photogrammetry data captured with Galaxy S24 Ultras in the field.

Diving Deeper into Ocean Conservation at UNOC

Beyond the "Coral in Focus" premiere, Samsung's commitment to ocean health was further highlighted through their participation in two panels hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO-IOC) at the UNESCO-IOC “Beyond Borders: Ocean Futures” pavilion. Generation17 Young Leader José Francisco Ochoa passionately spoke about the importance of digital technology and community partnership during the panel “Showcasing the Diversity of Ocean Literacy Practices Around the World,” sharing invaluable insights on how Generation17 amplifies his work to advance ocean literacy.

Samsung also contributed to a vital panel discussion titled “The Role of Corals in Unlocking the Secrets of Biodiversity,” reinforcing their dedication to marine conservation. Cassie Smith showcased how Galaxy technology, particularly Ocean Mode, serves as a powerful tool to support marine ecosystem protection through environmental monitoring, data collection, and community engagement. This panel was part of a comprehensive day of programming at UNOC, all aimed at fostering ocean literacy and promoting awareness of ocean preservation.

A Steadfast Commitment to a Healthier Ocean

The impactful collaboration with Seatrees is a natural extension of Samsung’s broader and unwavering commitment to ocean health. Since 2022, the company has responsibly incorporated over 150 tonnes of recycled fishing nets into Galaxy devices, a testament to their dedication to sustainable practices.

Now, with the innovative Ocean Mode, Samsung is actively redefining the role of mobile technology in climate action – expanding research capabilities, raising critical awareness, and making the unseen wonders and struggles of our oceans beautifully visible.

To experience the full documentary and delve deeper into this vital initiative, visit the Samsung x Seatrees partnership landing page.