PREVIEW: 2021 OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL

Fueled by the ongoing crusade for environmental respect and a passion for outdoor living, the Ocean Film Festival resurfaces in 2021 with arguably the finest collection of films in its 8 year history. Under Festival Director Jemima Robinson, the driven and focussed festival team annually compile a collection of shorts that capture the magnitude, fragility and spectacle of our planet’s waterways and the co-habitants that share in its life-giving qualities.

The Australian leg of the global film event launches February 24, appropriately on the north-eastern seaside mecca, The Gold Coast, before rolling out across the nation. The enthralling collection of ocean-themed short films will guide its loyal patrons through a free-diving expedition in the Coral Sea, a sailing adventure north to Alaska, exploration of remote Russian Islands and a surfing odyssey in Spain, to name a few of the 2021 highlights.

This year’s program includes:

RACE TO ALASKA: An annual race from Port Townsend, Washington up the Inside Passage to Ketchikan, Alaska, Race to Alaska chronicles the competition over a five year period. Highlights include the camaraderie of the racers, the ingenuity of the vessels and the hardships all must endure if they want to be the one to take home the $10,000 first place prize at the end (pictured, above).

FROM KURILS WITH LOVE: An expedition to the remote Kuril Islands (a volcanic archipelago between Hokkaido, Japan, and Kamchatka, Russia) thrillingly documents the islands’ supreme beauty. Dr. Vladimir Burkanov is the world’s expert on the Kuril Island’s and true warrior for the planet; this film takes you on an intimate journey of visual bliss, sea lion chaos and hope for a greater conservation effort (pictured, above).

CHANGING TIDES: Lucy Graham and Mathilde Gordon had never completed a multi-day kayaking journey before undertaking a 2042km journey down the coast of Alaska and Canada, raising awareness of marine plastic pollution. This film showcases a deep love and respect for adventure, the ocean and their friendship (pictured, above).

REBIRTH: Surfing isn’t just about the barrels and the airs, it’s about the art of riding waves and the foundations of learning, perseverance and struggle to get to where we want to be. Benoit, a surfer from the Basque country, fights for his love of riding waves after losing an arm, determined to adapt both physically and mentally (pictured, above).

MATADOR: When you combine a professional skim-boarder, a bunch of swell-chasers, underwater and aerial shots and a killer soundtrack and you've got the hair-raising, pulse-pounding, "gotta-see-it-to-believe-it" film that is Matador (pictured, above).

 

ME AND THE SEA: A short study into freediving – the breathwork, the technique, the adventure, the reward. As a novice freediver, Fransizka discovers a freedom deep below sea level she’d never before experienced (pictured, above).

VOICE ABOVE WATER: Wayan Nyo is a 90 year old fisherman whose livelihood is threatened due to the amount of plastic piling up in the ocean. In a change of pace, Wayan decides to use his fishing boat and net to pull rubbish from the water in the hopes of being able to fish again (pictured, above).

For all ticketing and session information regarding the 2021 OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL, visit the event’s Official Website.