Immerse yourself in the Ocean Film Festival
The two-and-a-half-hour program showcases films by independent filmmakers from around the world,
This year, the Island Whale Festival also plays host to the Ocean Film Festival.
Started a decade ago, the Ocean Film Festival aims to inspire, educate and protect oceans around the world, and tours 14 countries each year spreading its message.
Now it is coming to Phillip Island.
The two-and-a-half-hour program showcases films by independent filmmakers from around the world, and this year’s selection includes journeys across Bass Strait, along the Australian coastline, into the frozen Kamchatka Peninsula in Far East Russia, across the Arctic and, closer to home, the Mornington Peninsula.
The unique collection of seven short films documents the beauty and power of the ocean through captivating cinematography, complete with awe-inspiring scenes from above and below the water.
Festival founder Jemima Robinson said she started the festival to inspire people to protect and respect the oceans.
“We have done this through sharing unique stories from independent filmmakers from around the globe,” she said. “Our aim is to continue to support independent filmmakers getting their work seen, highlight important ocean environmental causes and foster our audiences’ love of the ocean.”
The Ocean Film Festival will screen at the Newhaven College Black Box Theatre, 1770 Phillip Island Road, Rhyll.
Sessions
Saturday July 1: 2pm – 5pm and 7pm – 10pm
Sunday July 2: 2pm – 5pm
Tickets are $20 Adults, $10 Concession.
Bookings essential at www.trybooking.com
Featured Films
Gone With The Wing
Gone with the Wing is a story of Australian, Andrew Englisch as he sets out on a world first attempt to cross the treacherous Bass Strait on a Wing Foil. An epic journey in one of the world’s most rugged, wild and beautiful natural environments.
Corners of The Earth: Kamchatka
Follow filmmakers Spencer Frost and Guy Williment and surfers Letty Mortensen and Fraser Dovell as they journey to Kamchatka in the far east of Russia in search of new waves along the frozen, unexplored coastline.
Bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk with more than 150 volcanoes (29 active) the Kamchatka Peninsula in Far Eastern Russia is as remote as it is unique.
After two years of planning the trip was almost over before it started. An hour before boarding their flight to Moscow, Russia invaded Ukraine.
At a time when the world was seeing the worst of human nature, these guys flew behind the iron curtain and found, to their surprise, the best of it. Mi-8 helicopters, skidoos, frozen campsites, and frozen bank accounts, this surf trip quickly became far more than anyone could imagine.
Broken Breath
Italian free-diving champion, Mike Maric is at the top of his game when a fatal accident occurs that leaves his world shattered. On a journey to find himself again, he discovers the power and importance of breathing. From his encounter with mammals of the ocean to self-discovery, this film follows the journey of how trauma can be an opportunity to find rebirth.
Hypnotise
Celebrating the old and the new, ‘Hypnotise’ is set beneath the surface of the eastern Australian coastline demonstrating that new life can come be born out of the depths of tragedy and become something truly beautiful. After 34 years serving in the Australian Navy, the ex-HMAS Brisbane was scuttled off the coast of Queensland in 2005. Now, 17 years later, this epic 130 metre artificial reef is home to over 200 species of fish.
Whale Dreaming - From Southern Ocean Live
Warren Ngarrae Foster, a Djirringanj Elder of Yuin country shares how his people have connected to the whales and dolphins of the area for generations and consider them family. This is a visually stunning celebration of an ancient culture and an ancient breed of marine life.
In Search of a Frozen Ocean
Five hundred nautical miles from the North Pole, inside the Arctic Ocean’s “Last Ice Area”, a research team has set out to measure the world’s largest and oldest sea ice floes. The route they take is one taken by native inuit tribes a thousand years ago and will allow them to access parts of ice that scientists have never before seen. What they discover is extraordinary.
Casey The Octopus – From Southern Ocean Live
Imagine going for your usual morning walk along the beach, except this morning you discover something extraordinary. This is the story of a Mornington Peninsula woman who stumbles across a decision that will either give or take life. A remarkable reminder of the connections that can be formed between humans and animals.
