BY KRISTY HAMILTON
Nothing captures our imaginations quite like the mystery of the sea—we have legends like Captain Cook, Jules Verne and Jacques-Yves Cousteau to thank for our fascination with Earth’s waters. Sailing into San Francisco from March 12 to 15, the International Ocean Film Festival returns for its 17th year with new tales of exploration, conservation and wonder.
Get whisked away into the setting sails of a legendary photographer’s journey to capture a creature that has eluded him for decades in Picture of His Life and join award-winning director Josh “Bones” Murphy as he exposes the destructive machinery used to mass produce salmon in Artificial.
The International Ocean Film Festival features 55 films from filmmakers and documentarians around the world, exploring stories of survival, demise, personhood, deep-sea mystery and inspiration. The 100-percent plastic-free festival will include five panel discussions, Q&A sessions with visiting filmmakers and a free student education program hosting more 1,200 students from around the Bay Area and beyond.
“As part of our mission to save the oceans one film at a time, we believe that it starts with plastic,” said Ana Blanco, executive director of the International Ocean Film Festival, adding that around eight million metric tons of plastic enter our oceans every year. “By raising awareness of the long-term damaging effects of plastics in our ocean, we are educating our audiences to become proactive in reducing the amount of plastics they use. For us, we feel it is important to set an example and that all of our screenings and events are plastic free.”
In keeping with its mission, the International Ocean Film Festival has partnered with the 30 X 30 initiative to safeguard 30 percent of our oceans by 2030. As Earth reaches a tipping point for protection, together in solidarity we must stand, say conservationists.
Since its maiden launch in 2004, the San Francisco-based festival has attracted thousands of spectators from around the world and partnered with film directors, producers and leading industry experts. Viewers will plunge not only into documentaries this year, but local animation talent with Space Sharks, a saga that follows Trevor and Gleb, alien shark buddies who have crash-landed on Earth, disguised themselves as humans, and stumbled their way upon the carnage of the shark fin trade.
“This year we have an amazing lineup of films on a variety of subject matters. Every year, we’ve received films about wildlife and this year there seemed to be a lot of interest in whales,” said Blanco. “For us locally, we have been following stories of whales getting entangled in fishing gear right outside the Golden Gate to stories of beached whales for a variety of reasons. We felt that the timing was great to shed more light on the beauty and intelligence of whales and create a broader opportunity to discuss them in more detail.”
The film festival will screen nine local Bay Area filmmakers, one of which has been awarded the Golden Gate Award, which recognizes local cinematic talent. At last count, 20 U.S. filmmakers and six international filmmakers will be attending the festival, coming all the way from Germany, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K. and Greece.
“Having filmmakers present for the Q&A portion of their film screening is key to a successful film festival, so we are excited to have our visiting guests,” said Blanco.
“We hope our audiences take away a bigger and broader understanding of how important our oceans are to us and what each of us can do to help protect it. Each film has a message for our audiences—all leading to encouraging innovative ways to protect our oceans and the urgency with which we have to do it. “
The festival is a time for reflection and call to action, and functions as a lens by which to increase public awareness of the environmental, social and cultural importance of marine ecosystems and ocean stewardship.
To attend the International Ocean Film Festival, guide your compasses to screenings taking place in San Francisco at the Cowell Theatre and Roxie Theatre in Fort Mason, and at the Smith Rafael Film Center in Marin. For a complete schedule and more information, visit www.intloceanfilmfest.org.
