This weekend, from Friday, January 19th, to Sunday, January 21st, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival will run in the Cowell Theater of San Francisco's Fort Mason Center.
Using films to increase ocean environment awareness and appreciation, the Ocean Film Festival is the first festival of its kind in North America, and second in the world. In fact, films have travelled across international oceans to partake in the festival. Filmmakers represent Australia, the Netherlands, France, England, Italy, New Zeland, Germany, Belgium, and the USA.
"The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival celebrates the sea with inspirational films that increase our appreciation of the oceans that surround us. View the beauty and mysteries of the ocean, experience the thrill of saltwater sports, explore coastal cultures, and pause to reflect on the importance of this vital ecosystem… "
An ocean awareness youth program of the film fesitval ran today, Friday, until 3pm. Saturday and Sunday will feature a range of mostly-documentary films exploring the human connection to marine life, threats to the marine ecosystem, and the ocean's beauty. Sit back, relax, and learn a little bit more about that big blue, beautiful expanse stretching and twinkling into the horizon.
On Saturday see "Favela Surf Dreams" by Dean Hamer which documents a surfing school in Ro de Janeiro located close to "one of the most dangerous slums in South America," and how students use school and surfing as positive forces to overcome adversity. And the Contra Costa Times highlights one of Sunday's features, "A Life With Skulls" by Beth Cataldo, a documentary about San Francisco resident Ray Bandar, 79, whose home is home to thousands of animal skeletons collected while a volunteer at the California Academy of Sciences.
Full festival passes are $60, and individual programs $10. Further information is at oceanfilmfest.org
