The Utila Project
Every Paradise Has a Story Worth Protecting
Some places are found on a map.
Others are found by accident.
In December of 2025, I boarded a flight to a tiny Caribbean island I had never heard of.
Its name was Utila.
At the time, I wasn’t there to make a film about the island. I was there to document Billy McFarland’s return for FYRE2 – The Billy McFarland Story.
Like millions of people around the world, I knew the headlines surrounding Fyre Festival. I expected controversy.
What I never expected was to discover one of the most extraordinary places I’d ever visited. A place so small it can almost disappear into the endless blue of the Caribbean Sea. A place where strangers become friends before the sun goes down. Where the pace of life slows just enough to remind you what really matters. Where the ocean isn’t just scenery. It’s life.
For weeks I explored Utila with my camera crew, believing we were simply documenting another production. But somewhere between the docks, the mangroves, the coral reefs, and the conversations with people who proudly call this island home…The story changed, and so did I.
The Secret Hidden Beneath Paradise
There’s a moment every filmmaker remembers. The one that changes the entire film. For me, it happened deep inside the mangroves.
We were filming with a local boat captain, navigating a narrow waterway so shallow that the engines had to be shut off. The Captain pushed forward quietly using poles, drifting through a maze of mangrove roots that felt untouched by time. Read More
Why Mangroves Matter
Mangroves are more than trees.
They are nurseries for marine life.
Natural barriers against storms.
Filters that protect coastal waters.
The roots of an entire ecosystem.
When they suffer, everything connected to them suffers too.
Fish.
Coral reefs.
Wildlife.
Communities.
Future generations.
Protecting the mangroves means protecting the heartbeat of Utila itself.
Aug 15th 6:00PM - Pay Per View Premiere of:
A Dot in the Ocean 60 Min Feature Documentary
This Is Where the Story Becomes Action
When you watch A Dot in the Ocean during its Aug 15th Pay-Per-View Premiere, you’re doing far more than experiencing a documentary—you become part of its story.PPV purchases will be dedicated to supporting The Utila Project, an initiative focused on assisting environmental cleanup efforts within Utila’s mangrove ecosystem. Our goal is to help fund the equipment, barges, cleanup crews, and logistical support needed to remove decades of accumulated waste from this fragile habitat in partnership with the local community and organizations working to protect the island.
Once the cleanup mission is complete, our production team plans to return to Utila to document the transformation, with that footage becoming the final chapter of the documentary. Your decision to watch on premiere day doesn’t just help launch a film—it helps preserve a place, protect an ecosystem, and turn a story into meaningful action. Together, we have an opportunity to prove that documentary filmmaking can inspire more than awareness—it can inspire real change.
One Film.
Thousands of People.
One Opportunity to Make a Difference.
The greatest documentaries don’t simply entertain.
They inspire people to care.
To question.
To act.
That’s the hope behind A Dot in the Ocean.
That someone watching from thousands of miles away will realize they can still make a difference in a place they’ve never visited.
Because change doesn’t always begin with governments.
Sometimes it begins with stories.
My Hope
I’ve spent my career telling stories around the world.
Some have been larger than life.
Others deeply personal.
But every so often, a story finds you instead of
the other way around…Utila found me.
I arrived to document someone else’s story. I left carrying one of my own. My hope is that when you watch this film, you don’t simply see another beautiful destination.
I hope you feel connected to it.
I hope you understand why its people fight so hard to preserve it.
I hope you see both its beauty and its vulnerability. Read More
A Dot in the Ocean - The Utila Project (Premiering Aug 15th)
Watch the Film – Share the Story – Help Protect Paradise
The Utila Project begins with a documentary – Its legacy will be measured by what we do next.
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