A Sea Change is the first documentary about ocean acidification, "the underbelly of climate change, a little-known but potentially devastating threat to ocean life." The film is making its West Coast premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival this Saturday.

A Sea Change follows grandfather and environmentalist Sven Huseby as he travels from upstate New York and California to Alaska and Norway to interview scientists, professors, fishermen, entrepreneurs, journalists and others about the changing chemistry of the ocean and what people are doing to reduce carbon emissions. Huseby finds himself enamored with pteropods, the tiny, beautiful sea butterflies crucial to the ocean’s ecosystem. Today pteropods can only survive up to 48 hours before the water’s acidity eats through their translucent shells.

The April 25 premiere will be followed by a Q&A with director Barbara Ettinger and her husband and co-producer Sven Huseby. Following the Q&A is a panel with Ken Caldeira of Carnagie Institution and Stanford University, Miyoko Sakashita of the Center for Biological Diversity, and Julia Rhee of the Oakland-based national organization Green for All.

A Sea Change | SF Int'l Film Festival | Kabuki Sundance Cinemas, 1801 Post St, at Fillmore, SF | Saturday, April 25 at 3:45 p.m., followed by Q & A, Monday, April 27 at 6:15 p.m., and Thursday, April 30 at 1:30 p.m. | Buy Tickets