A Manx woman will be hitting the big screen next week as part of a feature documentary.  

Isle of Man scientist Rowan Henthorn was part of a 14 strong crew of women who sailed to and through the densest accumulation of ocean plastic on the planet.

Their epic journey was captured on camera for the film ‘X Trillion’ which premieres in London this week.  

Rowan took part in the grueling ‘eXXpedition North Pacific’ which took the all-woman crew to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to highlight the planet’s plastic plight and carry out research.

Led by Emily Penn, the international crew was made up of scientists, filmmakers, circular-economists, engineers, teachers, packaging designers and creators - but very few were sailors.

The adventure saw them sail 3,000 miles across the North Pacific Ocean, all of which was captured by the documentary which has been described as a life-affirming story of adventure, discovery, science, solidarity and a call to action.

Rowan says: ‘The reason the plastic was created is because it was this amazing material that would last us forever.

‘And when we've done that, we made a material that does last forever. I was getting prepared to see a lot of plastic, I just wasn’t prepared to see so much plastic at this frequency so soon.’

Produced by Verity Wislocki, the film explores the practical and emotional responses to one of the biggest global challenges facing humanity.

It depicts crew members leaving families to battle high seas, storms and sea sickness on their journey carry out cutting-edge microplastics research.

Once there, they recorded an average of half a million pieces of microplastics per square kilometre, and that was only on the surface.

The scientific data they gathered has been used as part of ten international research projects.

Director, Eleanor Church, said: ‘We were a crew of women with different skills, goals and motivations, brought together to witness and record the true extent of the plastic pollution crisis - with a focus on micro plastics and their toxic impact on female bodies in particular.

‘We all emerged transformed by the experience and are committed to telling the story of what we witnessed and working to find solutions.

‘The film is about this global crisis, but more than that it highlights the crucial role women play in helping to change systems and find solutions to the big problems facing humanity.’

Emily Penn, eXXpedition founder, said: ‘We know that there is no silver bullet to solve the plastic problem.

‘Our expeditions help people to understand the true challenge of ocean plastic pollution, so they can use their skills to solve it from sea to source.

‘This voyage turned these incredible women into ambassadors for change, with the power to help transform our future.

‘It’s amazing to see the impact they’ve achieved since!”

‘We hope the film will take audiences with us on this journey, so that they too are inspired about all the ways they can be changemakers.

‘We don’t need everyone to do everything, we need everyone to do something.’

The film premieres this Wednesday at the Curzon Soho in London and will be followed by a Q&A.

It will then be shown at the Firstsite, Colchester (Friday, May 24), the Electric Theatre, Guildford (Thursday, May 30), Genesis Cinema, London (Wednesday, June 12) and the Highland Cinema, Fort William (Saturday, July 13) as part of its big screen run. The documentary’s producers have also secured a broadcast deal with Warner Bros. Discovery which means the film will receive its global broadcast premiere on World Ocean Day, June 8, 2024.