Saturday, April 11, 2009

BLUE Ocean Film Festival: ocean conservation comes to Savannah, GA and beyond

There are several interesting ocean film festivals that take place each year, but in June there is one of particular note: the BLUE Ocean Film Festival set in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. There are several features to this event, scheduled for June 11 thru 14, that I think will set it apart from others.

First, there will be a full slate of exciting and thought-provoking films - from professionals to student films - for the public to view. My documentary, Island of the Great White Shark, has been accepted but the final slate of films to be screened has not been determined yet, so check their web site as the dates approach.

Secondly, there will be several presentations, panel groups, and awards - particularly, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Ocean Advocacy to be given to Dr. Sylvia Earle, who I featured in a previous post. Many of the people involved in the panel groups are colleagues or mentors so I know the events will be enlightening for marine conservationists, filmmakers or just the curious.

Lastly, and perhaps in many ways most importantly, the festival is planning a road show of sorts, bringing many of the participating films to a broader audience through aquariums, festivals, and other public events. This is key to building greater public awareness (My loyal readers of this blog are dedicated conservationists, but are we reaching the unenlightened as well? - that is an important long-term goal.).

I will be attending the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and will be soaking in some of Savannah's historical ambiance and Southern hospitality. Hope to see you there.

For more information:
info@blueoceanfilmfestival.org
813-885-4142
Facebook: BLUE Ocean Film Festival group

2 comments:

Sara Bayles said...

I was very excited to find your blog. I am a new member of the blogspot world. It looks like an amazing film festival in Georgia. I tried to find a link on the site to let me know if/when it is coming to Los Angeles, or the surrounding area. If I just misread the site, and the info. is there, could you let me know?

ALso, my blog is documenting a project I started which is collecting, and documenting beach trash that I collect from my local beach, Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA. I've found some ugly things, and seen some beautiful inspiration. If you would like to see what I am up to, go to: www.thedailyocean.blogspot.com

thanks for your work on this great blog.
Sara

RTSea said...

Sara:

Glad you liked the blog! Best of success with yours!

The BLUE on Tour has not set up a schedule of dates and locations yet (they're focused right now on the June festival in Savannah). But check back with the web site (www.blueoceanfilmfestival.org) from time to time.