Layers of blue hug the coast of California, a postcard shoreline recognizable at a glance. But Rosanna Xia has seen beneath the picturesque surface.

Xia, an L.A. Times environmental reporter, broke a story in 2020 that as many as half a million barrels of DDT, a toxic chemical banned in the U.S. in 1972, were dumped in the waters off Los Angeles.

Studies have found links between DDT and breast cancer, as well as contamination in animals exposed to the chemical — and the barrels were leaking.

The story led Xia to partner with director and producer Daniel Straub and a small team to create “Out of Plain Sight,” a documentary co-directed and co-produced by Xia that follows the reporter as she seeks answers about the DDT barrels that still lie on our ocean floor.

Times staff writer Rosanna Xia in “Out of Plain Sight.”

(Austin Straub / “Out of Plain Sight”)

The award-winning film will show at the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theater on Tuesday and at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

I attended a screening of “Out of Plain Sight” in Laguna Beach, home to the film’s emotional through-line: the Pacific Marine Mammal Center where Dr. Alissa Deming, the center’s vice president of Conservation Medicine and Science, has conducted research on a cancer tied to DDT found in sea lions.

This is not a normal news documentary, nor is it a finished narrative that can be tied up nicely with a bow. As one question is answered, another arises. But there is a beauty in the documentary, not simply in the breathtaking cinematography but also in the telling of a story still in progress.

“Out of Plain Sight” focuses on the detriment of the existing DDT in our waters while also looking at what can be done to remedy this problem. I talked with both Straub and Xia, who specializes in coastal and ocean reporting and has long grappled with the range of emotions that come with covering the environment.

“I realized that the thing that keeps me going isn’t hope; that’s not the emotion that grounds me,” she says. “It’s courage and a sense of duty.”

Xia allowed these emotions to drive her in the documentary’s reporting, understanding the weight of the story being told.

“How do I tell the story in a way that gives people the courage to care, the courage to not look away, the courage to continue engaging with an issue that feels so all-encompassing and so overwhelming?” she asks.

Lying on the ocean floor, the DDT barrels — and the harm they cause — can feel distant. But the documentary takes viewers along, allowing them to see the findings and evidence for themselves, and makes the issue visible.

“This is something that we have no choice but to live with,” Straub says. “To pretend it’s not there doesn’t make the problem go away.”

“Out of Plain Sight” has been shown in cities across the country, ones that are vastly different from those in California, and yet the documentary’s team has seen the film resonate beyond the state’s border. Audiences in other cities didn’t just see DDT in the Pacific Ocean — they saw mining pollution in rivers, heavy metals in drinking water, sea levels rising.

“When you start thinking about the environment, you start thinking about the issue that’s most closely related to you,” Straub says. “It becomes sort of a catalyst for all of these other conversations that are happening.”

The documentary prompts these conversations, working to unravel the consequences of decades-old decisions. Years ago, this story might not have garnered attention — but now, as Xia says, “it’s a story that you can’t unsee or unknow afterward.”

Netflix’s historic Warner Bros. acquisition will transform Hollywood and the streaming wars.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

• Paramount’s $30-per-share bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, backed by tech billionaire Larry Ellison, lost Friday when Netflix swooped in with a competing $82.7-billion deal.
• Analysts and multiple auction insiders told The Times several factors complicated the process, including Paramount’s low-ball offers and hubris.
• The takeover would give Netflix such beloved characters and franchises as Batman, Harry Potter and “Game of Thrones.”
• Here’s more of what we know about the deal that will reshape Hollywood.

• Adam Schiff, sworn in one year ago, has remained the unblinking antagonist to Trump that many Californians elected him to be after watching him dog the president from the U.S. House during Trump’s first term in the White House.
• Analysts said Schiff was an effective messenger for Democrats even if he was unable to pass his bills.
• A White House spokesperson said Schiff was too focused on Trump, to the detriment of California voters.

• As the state is home to many tech giants, Gov. Gavin Newsom has said California is paving the way for legislative restrictions on social media and artificial intelligence.
• But although child safety advocates agree progress was made at the state capital this year, they argue there’s still a long way to go and plan to fight for more protections when legislators reconvene in January.

• Is RFK Jr. better on women’s health than Newsom? We’re about to find out, writes columnist Anita Chabria.
• Olivia Nuzzi’s new book, “American Canto,” tries to place her ill-fated affair in the context of the Trump era’s weirdness, writes columnist Robin Abcarian.
• Don’t kill college football’s best tradition, argues columnist Bill Plaschke. Compromise to keep USC vs. Notre Dame.
• Elizabeth Holmes is a liar, a swindler and a cheat, columnist Mark Z. Barabak argues. So why wouldn’t Trump pardon her?

From left, Joseph John Bertrund Belanger, “Robert Block and Unidentified Man in Photo Booth”; Noah Davis, “1975 (8)”; and Karon Davis’ “Found Cause.”

(Photo illustration by Josep Prat Sorolla / For The Times; photographs by ONE Archives/USC, Kerry McFate and Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

• Art: The 10 best art shows across SoCal’s museums in a year full of captivating moments.
• Theater: Bizarre, disturbing, campy — this immersive L.A. show taps into the Arctic wild.

Almondo Fiori said, “Three piece suits, leather shoes, courtesy and manners.”

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

Palisades residents Mitra Lotfi, left, and Alicia Albek embrace during the annual Marquez Knolls Block Party in Pacific Palisades on Saturday.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Christina House at a block party in Pacific Palisades, where residents hoped to preserve the sense of community that was so shaken by the Palisades fire.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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