A Ray of Light

2012, 12 minutes

An intimate look at one man's struggle to protect Mallorca's Stingrays

"David's masterful portrait is so full of tenderness and empathy that one is instantly mesmerized by the guy's humanity and compassion, and by his selfless commitment to try and better protect the Sting Rays of Mallorca." "This is David Diley's coming out as a filmmaker." "...he is achieving the seemingly impossible with zero back-up and minimal resources, simply driven by his passion for marine conservation and the need to make a difference by telling a story. I say, if this is a taste of things to come, the man is in for a stellar career!" A short film about Brad Robertson, a passionate conservationist tirelessly working to maintain and grow a grassroots, community based project to help protect the Stingrays of Mallorca. This is the reality behind "spit and sawdust" conservation, there are no glossy marketing campaigns, no sexy photoshoots and most critically of all, no financial support, just Brad and his wife Bea, struggling against bureaucracy, apathy, crippling financial pressure and a lack of support from the people who could actually help. The economic crisis has had a devastating effect on Spain, a country which has cut funding to support the policing of its Marine Reserves by up to 80% and as a result, we see that without vigilant protection, a "Marine Reserve" is no more a haven for marine wildlife than any other stretch of unprotected coastline. So why does he bother? Because he's a diver, a diver who wants future generations to experience the kind of things he has in his twenty years underwater, the kind of incredible experience we see at the climax of the film, an experience which illustrates just how important Brad's work in Mallorca is.

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