and i first saw them , i was on a trip down to jeju island. i was eight years old and i was with my family, and i just happened upon a community of henyul . and they were so loud, bold, fearless, and strong, and i just fell in love with him at first sight. and then i started going back to find them. >> it is a spectacular documentary, and one facet of it is your highlighting of the existential threat that these diverse face, specifically japan's decision to release radioactive waste from the fukushima nuclear plant into the pacific ocean. how has things like pollution, climate change, rising temperatures threatened these women's line of work? >> well, you know, when i first started the film i thought of the greatest existential threat was simply young women not wanting to take up the work. but then, once i started interviewing them, that is when i found out that it is actually climate change and global warming. they were doing the most damage to the marine life. so now there is very little marine life for them to hunt and harvest, and they hav