Along with an array of more than 35 documentaries, fictional and animated ocean-centric films that delve into marine science, ocean exploration, coastal culture, and ocean sports, visitors to the Sixth Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival (SFOFF) also will have the opportunity to attend live question and answer sessions with the filmmakers.
Organizers expect about 4,500 people to attend the four-day festival, Feb. 19-22, 2009, which includes a strong education component. A special two-day program, offered Feb. 19-20, will allow more than 1,000 elementary- through high-school-age students to attend screenings, question and answer sessions, and talks offered by local marine scientists. The film festival also provides an opportunity for student filmmakers to showcase their work and talk with other students about their films.
Modeled after a similar film festival in Toulon, France, and established in 2004, the SFOFF is held at the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center. The festival now includes an awards program and an opening night party. Organizers hope in the future to launch a traveling program of SFOFF films, broaden the reach of under-distributed ocean films, increase community impact through year-round events and use new media technologies to bring the festival to classrooms.
Among this year’s attendees will be ASCE member Kevin Knuuti, winner of the 2008 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference raffle. Proceeds from the raffle, which totaled nearly $1,000, helped fund a student stipend for Juan Recio, author of the best student paper at the 2008 International Conference on Coastal Engineering.
"I had to leave the conference just before the raffle drawing so I was very surprised to later hear that I'd won the raffle for the SF Ocean Film Festival tickets," Knuuti said. "I attended the SF Ocean Film Festival its first year and really enjoyed it so I'm looking forward to attending again in 2009. The SF Ocean Film Festival presents great films with an ocean theme with the goal to entertain and to also encourage ocean conservation. It should be a great event. Thanks, Lesley Ewing, for convincing me to buy a few raffle tickets!"
COPRI is especially grateful to the Ocean Film Festival organizers for this donation. With help from SFOFF and similar organizations, COPRI will be able to continue efforts to encourage and support the engineers and scientists who will be the next generation of COPRI leaders.
For more information about the film festival visit wwww.oceanfilmfest.com or e-mail the organizers at info@oceanfilmfest.org. Tickets can be purchase online at oceanfilmfest.org or by phone through the Cowell Theater Box Office at (415) 441-3400.
