New wetland wildlife film Wad, review

This Dutch video about the new film Wad, about the Wadden sea wetlands in the north of the Netherlands, says about itself (translated):

A film that portrays the ecosystem like never before; from very small organisms at the bottom of the food chain like diatoms and shellfish to the peregrine falcon and the gray seal at the top of the food chain. A film that shows the special aesthetic aspects of the area. A film that shows how incredibly dynamic and great the area is. A film that shows once and for all how valuable this UNESCO World Heritage area is. In the autumn of 2018 in the cinema to see.

On 26 October 2018, I went to see this new film by Ruben Smit (who earlier made the succesful wildlife film The New Wilderness).

The film starts in winter, the season when grey seal pups are born, and ends in the next winter, when a one-year-old grey seal returns to where it was born. Later in the film, one sees the smaller common seals as well.

Sanderlings play an important role in the film. These birds, which nest in the Arctic, are present in the Wadden sea area most of the year. The film shows some seldom seen images: I, for instance, had never seen a dunlin driving away a sanderling. Also, when it rains, young avocets hide under their parents.

There are also major roles for eider ducks and shelducks. Especially about the arduous journeys of the ducklings with their parents from the sand dunes of the Wadden sea islands to the sea. Journeys where predators may attack them.

There are also many images of how the sand, the water and the wind interact. There is constant change in these wetlands. That may also cause heartbreaking scenes; like when an Arctic tern is powerless to stop its nest and its eggs drowning in unusually high water.

A beautiful film. Worth seeing.