A Light in the Black

What does it mean to love a place that belongs to everyone?

A woman with long dark hair wearing a colorful patterned headscarf, earrings, and a denim jacket, smiling outdoors with blurred green foliage in the background.

Lia Komakhidze
Director/Co-Producer

Lia Komakhidze is a Georgian filmmaker. After years of working in video editing and television, she began developing her own filmmaking practice through documentary storytelling. Her first feature documentary was completed in the United States. A Light in the Black is her second documentary project and reflects her interest in environmental themes and humanity's connection to nature and the ocean.

A smiling man, Graham Patterson the co-founder of REEF Scuba, in scuba gear with a wetsuit and oxygen tank near water, possibly at the beach or dock.

Graham Patterson
Scientific Advisor/Co-Producer

Marine scientist and public policy practitioner with dual master's degrees, Graham is the founder of REEF Scuba, a 501(c)(3) ocean conservation nonprofit with UN consultative status. His background bridging marine ecology, environmental governance, and international advocacy provides the film's scientific foundation while situating the Black Sea's crisis within its broader transboundary context.

The Journey

Returning to the Black Sea coast, Georgian filmmaker Lia Komakhidze looks to more fully understand a sea she has experienced since her childhood. What starts as a personal journey gradually unfolds into encounters with divers, fishers, scientists, and coastal residents. Lia begins to understand a sea under pressure from many directions at once: ecological, economic, and political.

The journey eventually expands beyond Georgia to the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, and to wider conversations about conservation, conflict, and transboundary cooperation.

Through reflection and observation, the film asks whether a sea shared by nations divided by politics, history, and conflict can still teach them something about what they have in common.

Press Request

A Light in the Black was generously sponsored by Tidal Arts. Field production, research, and outreach are supported by regional scientists, collaborators and conservation partners across the Black Sea. 

Email the Producers: info@alightintheblack.com  | © 2025 A Light in the Black. All rights reserved.