The Ocean Film Festival 2023 returns to Italy from 13 to 30 November. A tour in 15 cities with 10 films scheduled, including short and medium length films, for each evening.
Ocean Film Festival 2023: i film in programma
10 titles that testify to the beauty and power of the ocean through fascinating videos shot above and below the surface of the waters. Each film in the festival conveys a deep respect and appreciation for the world‘s oceans and the creatures that inhabit them, and engages the viewer in thrilling adventures, transporting them into underwater scenes and sequences of fast waves, captured from incredible vantage points.
CASEY THE OCTOPUS
Australia, 5 minutes
Director: Karina Holden
Produzione: Northern Pictures
Focus: Marine Life, Environment
Imagine taking your usual morning walk along the beach, like every other morning, only this time it’s different because you discover something extraordinary. This is the story of a woman from the Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne, Australia, who encounters a decision that can make or take her life. An exceptional reminder of the bonds that can be created between humans and animals.
HAPPYLAND
Patagonia, 32 minutes
Producer: Bagual Films
Focus: Sailing, Surfing, Adventure
The world is on pause, but the pause is not for everyone.
In the midst of the pandemic, surfer Nicolás Vargas devises a mission to escape the lock down.
Together with his friend Guillermo Satt, he organizes a boat escape towards Patagonia, in search of distant and unknown waves.
Accompanied by an eccentric captain and an inexperienced navigator, they discover the adventure on the seas, the emotions given by a sailing trip, the sense of crew, and take their passion for surfing to unknown places, facing the energetic sea of southern Chile, where storms seem to prohibit entry.
“Felicilandia” is a film that immerses us in the experience of sailing in places where the waves are not a given, towards a state of freedom and emotion that only the sea can give.
GENERATIONS OF SOUND
Canada, 4 minutes
Director: Megan Hockin-Bennett
Produzione: Wild Sky Productions
Focus: Marine Life
At Orcalab, a remote land-based research station in the picturesque wilderness of British Columbia, Canada, Helena Symonds has been studying and listening to the captivating sounds of the orcas that inhabit these pristine waters for over forty years, recognizing individual families by their specific sound, inherited from the mother, which passes through the generations and is transmitted almost perfectly from the mother to her daughters and to her daughters’ offspring…generations of sound.
In this short film we are transported to the depths of the ocean to listen to the calls of killer whales.
HYPNOTIZE
Australia, 4 minutes
Produced by Ste Everington
Focus: Diving, Marine Life, Environment
Celebrating the old and the new, “Hypnotise” is set beneath the surface of Australia’s east coast and demonstrates that new life can rise from the depths of tragedy and become something truly beautiful.
After 34 years of service in the Australian Navy, the ex-HMAS Brisbane was sunk off the coast of Queensland in 2005.
And here is the magic of wreck diving: the wreck, which had been carefully prepared before the dive and made safe for the marine environment and for divers, 18 years later is an epic 130 meter artificial reef that is home to over 200 species of fish.
IN SEARCH OF A FROZEN OCEAN
United States, 35 mins
Regia: Diana Kushner & Stephen A Smith
Produzione: An Enduring ice Production
Focus: Ocean exploration & environment
A team of 5 explorers and scientists ventures into the Arctic Ocean, 500 miles from the North Pole, to conduct research into why sea ice is shrinking and what impact this phenomenon has on the rest of the world.
The route they take is along the Nares Strait, between Greenland and Canada, followed by native Inuit tribes a thousand years ago, which will allow them to access an area of ice that scientists have never seen before.
Camping on land or on floating ice, bordered by imposing mountains and glaciers, they will live among polar bears, seals, walruses and even narwhals, in a mix of adventure and scientific expedition. By following their journey it will be possible to begin to understand how sea ice evolves and, ultimately, how our climate system changes.
SKIN SWIMMER
Canada, 7 mins
Regia: Hannah Walsh
Focus: Open water swimming
Waking up on a cold, rainy Vancouver morning, most people choose to stay indoors clutching their steaming coffee. This is not the case for Roberta Cenedese, whose morning is drastically different. She wakes up and dives into the frigid waters of the Pacific Northwest, wearing only a bathing suit.
Through triumphs and failures, Roberta trains for one of the most challenging feats in open water swimming: an icy mile in three-degree water.
THE SANCTUARY
Australia, 7 minutes
Produzione: Timothy Brown, Michael Portway
Focus: Ocean exploration, marine life & environment
Recounting his love of the water, octogenarian Ray Lewis snorkels among the vibrant aquatic life of the Ricketts Point marine sanctuary, near the heart of Melbourne, Australia.
For Ray, this is not just a refuge in which to relax, but a space that he strongly wanted and safeguarded.
From young fighter pilot to committed conservationist, Ray recounts his journey and the astonishing transformation that has taken place in the marine sanctuary since it received official protection. Colorful fish, playful stingrays and lush enclaves of algae – every frame exudes the awe-inspiring beauty of this place.
Through his experiences and anecdotes, Ray highlights the importance of environmental stewardship, urging viewers to steward and protect our precious oceans.
The Storm Chaser
Great Britain, 7 minutes
Regia: Jack Pirie
Focus: Windsurfing
The Storm Chaser is a short film by Jack Pirie, writer and director.
The film follows windsurfer Thomas Traversa, a legendary storm chaser, as he embarks on a perilous journey in search of a fabled storm the likes of which the world has never witnessed.
A documentary that blends between different genres (noir, thriller and suspense) and which tells of the profound encounter between man and nature at its extremes, and the harmony that can be found within it.
TRULUCK
Great Britain, 20 mins
Regia: Matt Cannon, Jake Smallwood
Focus: Marine life & environment
Follow the life-changing events of Steve Truluck, a window cleaner who discovered his passion. Steve was trapped in a mundane life, but a job move to Scotland unexpectedly sparked what quickly became an obsession with marine wildlife. After a risky decision to abandon his career as an engineer and become a window cleaner to stay in Scotland, a surprise encounter with a humpback whale leads him to discover his purpose: to help others connect with whales and dolphins. Today Steve is one of the UK’s leading whale watching guides, best known for his ability to find the rarest orcas in British waters.
We share the highs and lows of Steve’s favorite event in Scotland, the Orca Watch, and discover how the joy of first encountering these incredible animals can make an already special day even more extraordinary.
WHALE DREAMING from Southern Ocean Live
Australia, 5 mins
Produzione: Northern Pictures
Focus: Culture, Marine Life & Environment
Warren Ngarrae Foster, a Djirringanj from the Yuin country, talks about his people’s historic bond with whales and dolphins, passed down through generations, and the respect that binds him to these large animals, considered part of their large family.
The film is a visually stunning celebration of an ancient culture and an ancient race of marine life, finally reunited.
READ ALSO: Ocean Film Festival Tour 2023: dates in Italy in November
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