Film

Sea Ballerinas

1956 · 13m · Documentary

IMDb

6.5

Two kinds of starfish, the brittle and the feather. The brittle star moves its arms alone, without the aid of suckers. Underneath is a single opening. Stalks move food close to the mouth and move waste away. We see vents, used in reproduction and breathing. We watch the hatched young expelled into the water. The camera shows us brittle stars' intricate patters. We observe feather stars in clusters, like ferns. One turns over slowly; arms have branches with stalks for breathing and gathering microscopic food. Reproductive organs are inside branches. We see eggs develop at 1,400 nature's speed. Larvae emerge, 0.1 mm long. They grow. A feather star takes a walk.

• Jean PainlevéDirector · Editor · Director of Photography
• Geneviève HamonDirector · Director of Photography · Editor
• Pierre ContéOriginal Music Composer

Release date

January 1, 1956

Status

Released

Original language

French

Runtime

13m

Genres

Documentary