Majestic. Powerful. Mysterious. Threatened. Endless numbers of words can be used to describe the world’s vast ocean, its inhabitants and those who study it, play in it and protect it.
Meet “The Coral Gardener,” Austin Bowden-Kerby, who brings together his love of gardening, and passion for the underwater world, to do something very special for the coral reefs, and communities, of Fiji. Photo by Elizabeth White
8th San Francisco Ocean Film Festival Sets Sail
BY KATI SCHMIDT
Published: March, 2011
Billed as North America’s premier “cinemaquatic” event, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, which is presented by National Marine Sanctuaries, The Bay Institute and Aquarium of the Bay, features more than 50 films divided into 12 programs over its five-day run. More than just movies on the screen, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival continues the conversation long after the credits have rolled, with Q&A sessions and panel discussions by filmmakers, producers and ocean champions.
“With the Bay as our backdrop, it’s only fitting that the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, now in its eighth year, be the premier film festival of its kind for learning more about the world’s ocean, marine life, and environmental concerns as seen through the eyes of accomplished filmmakers from around the world,” said Festival Director Ana Blanco. “With the support of our donors, sponsors and volunteers we are excited to take festival goers on an unforgettable five-day voyage of amazing films.”
“Our ocean is a place of great power and majesty, but it still needs our help,” said Maria Brown, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary superintendent. “Through top-quality films, and through lively discussions related to ocean issues, the festival helps us to realize that we are akin to the sea, and must embrace and protect it.”
The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival opens with Sex Under the Sea, featured in the Opening Night Filmmakers Reception, and fittingly ends with Change for the Oceans—a message that will be shared throughout the various events and film programs.
Wading Through the Reels
Each member of the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival’s film committee, led by Keith Howell, M.J. Schramm, Sidney Hollister, Pamela Morse, Diane Brockob, Sarah Haas, Kathi Koontz, Chris Paganelli and Peter Winch, with support from David McGuire, deserves an Oscar for selecting the 2011 lineup from more than 150 films entered.
“As the Surf Program ‘ambassador,’ I’m pleased the Film Festival has a tradition of screening high-quality, award-winning and action-packed surf shorts and features that raise the stoke and make us think while appealing to the diverse perspectives of the community: the travelers, artists, activists, seekers, weekend warriors, adrenaline junkies and rippers,” said Morse. “Features like this year’s The Westsiders tell stories that give greater meaning to our choice of communion with the sea.”
“Danish author Isak Dinesen once said, ‘The cure for anything is salt water—sweat, tears, or the sea.’ My belief is that our festival goers, and others who love the ocean so fiercely, have a higher percentage of saltwater in our veins than others of our species. That is why the ocean calls so compellingly to us, and connecting through the festival is one way we can respond,” said Schramm.
While filmmakers from near and far submit work into the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, documentaries, movies and shorts by local filmmakers include:
• A Wave of Change by Kip Evans
• Amazing Jellies by Gabriela Quiros
and Lindsay Kelliher of KQED QUEST
• Birdathlon by Karen Lewis
• Change for the Oceans by Jonah Sach
• Home for Hawksbill by Jordan Plotsky
• Killer Whales by Kevin Bachar and Joey Allen
• Sanctuary in the Sea by Bob Talbot
• The Bay vs. The Bag by Jonah Sachs
• The Great White Shark: Meet the Man in the Gray Suit by Chris
Bauer and Lindsay Kelliher of KQED QUEST
• The Westsiders by Joshua Pomer
• Willem and the Whales by Kate Miller
• Yao Ming Shark Fin Soup PSA by Kevin Donovan
Highlights for the 8th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival Include:
• Opening Night Filmmakers Reception: Salty, savory and sultry, partygoers will view Sex Under the Sea and a sampling of other short films, before heading next door to party with the sharks, rays and thousands of other local aquatic animals at Aquarium of the Bay. The Opening Night reception includes hosted sips and nibbles by Fog Harbor Fish House, Greens Restaurant, Hog Island Oyster Company, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Promenade Wines, Sweet Things Bakery and others. Tickets are only $60 for this benefit event.
• Surf Film program: Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m.: The program includes the features the San Francisco theatrical premieres of the award-winning The Westsiders, Ocean Monk and Monsterboards. Representatives from each will be in attendance for Q&A.
• Family Programs – Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13 at 10 a.m.: New for 2011, the Film Festival is launching a family-focused lineup, complete with discounted admission rates. Saturday’s lineup includes gems such as The Physics of Surfing and Killer Whales; Sunday’s family program features the turtle conservation film Home for Hawksbill and the Hawaii big-wave focused Chasing the Swell.
• Continued Underwater Exploration at Aquarium of the Bay: For the first time, all tickets will include complimentary admission to Aquarium of the Bay, conveniently located next door to Theatre 39.
Off the Screen Conversations
Two topics making recent headlines—protections for dwindling shark populations and establishing an international network of Marine Protected Areas—will be presented to audiences through special panel discussions, complementing the Film Festival lineup.
Friday’s 1 p.m. film program features three films focused on: establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in California; the development of Mexico’s Loreto Bay National Park; and ways in which an unlikely alliance of surfers and fishermen successfully battled to save Baja’s most iconic spots. Fishermen, scientists and conservation leaders from California and Mexico will lead a panel discussion following the films on the challenges associated with MPAs.
“The ocean is in serious trouble right now. If you consider that 50 percent of the world’s coral reefs are in trouble and that there are growing problems of ocean acidification, overfishing and many other issues, you will see that we need to act now—we are running out of time,” said Kip Evans, filmmaker for A Wave of Change, one of the films highlighted in the MPA-focused program. “As a filmmaker, I want to highlight the positive steps that are being taken, actions that precipitate significant change. Marine protected areas may be our last chance to protect the ocean before it’s too late.”
The recent introduction of AB 376, co-authored by California Assembly members Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) that would ban the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in California, will be discussed in a panel discussion following Saturday’s 1 p.m. “Sharks & Vanishing Marine Life” film program. Organized by Sea Stewards Director David McGuire, the discussion will be held next door to the theatre in Aquarium of the Bay’s Farallon Room.
“With sharks and vanishing marine life increasingly in the news, this is an opportunity to experience the excitement, the beauty, and the issues facing our most precious resource: the ocean,” said McGuire.
Visit www.oceanfilmfest.org for a full Film Festival lineup and to purchase program tickets, Film Festival passes, discounted parking passes, specially priced meal packages at Fog Harbor Fish House and more.
8th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival at a Glance
When: March 9 -13, 2011
Where: Theatre 39 at PIER 39
Cost:
• Individual program tickets:
- Adults: $12
- Seniors (ages 65+) and Students: $10
- Children (ages 12 and under):$8
All individual program tickets include free admission to Aquarium of the Bay.
• Family Program tickets (Saturday and Sunday at 10am):
- Adults: $10
- Children: $5
All family program tickets include free admission to Aquarium of the Bay
• Meet the Filmmakers, Opening Night Reception: $60
• Film Festival passes: $85-175
Tickets and Info: www.oceanfilmfest.org or (415) 561-6251
Manta Rays – huge, graceful and threatened. Photo by Danielle Heinrichs
The film, “The Great White Shark: Meet the Man in the Gray Suit,” will be included in Saturday’s “Sharks & Vanishing Marine Life” program, at 1pm. Photo courtesy of KQED QUEST
