Shark Stewards has produced several award winning ocean films and we are proud to participate and support international ocean awareness and action through film. First initiated in San Francisco in 2012, the International Ocean Film Festival has grown from its San Francisco home and developed with new partners in five countries bringing the message of sharks and ocean love across the globe. Our goal is to bring our ocean stories to Asia to save threatened marine wildlife.
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KIEL, GERMANY
CINEMARE
October 23 – 27, 2019
CINEMARE is the 4th annual celebration of ocean-inspired films in the coastal city of Kiel, Germany. Inspired by the IOFF, CINEMARE is also the first cultural exchange event between sister cities – Kiel and San Francisco. IOFF hosted the first film program exchange between the two film festival partners in San Francisco in March 2019, attended by dignitaries of the SF-KIEL sister city exchange program. CINEMARE was created to celebrate the rich heritage of Kiel as an ocean faring port city and to collaborate across the oceans that unite us – the very same ones that we strive to protect through the powerful messaging of film.
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA
Korea International Ocean Film Festival
July 5 – 7, 2019
Since 2015, Sea & See Film Festival introduced many marine films from all over the world to Busan citizens. In 2018, Sea & See Film Festival changed its name to Korea International Ocean Film Festival to communicate with the world through a variety of ocean films. In 2019, the KIOFF will screen more than a dozen films from the IOFF portfolio, each of them translated and subtitled, sharing important ocean films from around the world.
ALPENA, MICHIGAN
Thunder Bay International Film Festival
January 23 – 27, 2019
Located in the northern part of Michigan along Lake Huron, the city of Alpena prides itself on its unique access to the water, woods, and wildlife, and just offshore is the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of sixteen marine protected areas of the U.S. and part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In September 2012, the Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary hosted the first special screening of IOFF films as the Thunder Bay International Ocean Film Festival, now an annual tradition.
AUSTRALIA
IOFF partnered with the Ocean Film Festival Australia in 2013, presenting its inaugural tour with stops in six cities around the country during March: Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Cairns, Townsville, and Sydney.
HONG KONG
The Ocean Recovery Alliance (ORA) in Hong Kong was the first group to work with IOFF, screening films in various locations throughout Hong Kong. In 2013, ORA held Kids Ocean Week, culminating in a human art exhibit, based on the award-winning design submitted at the beginning of the week. More than 1,000 kids participated in this amazing event on Repulse Bay.
Human art exhibit as part of the ORA’s Kids Ocean Week, 2013, on Repulse Bay, Hong Kong.
VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA
Located in the Primorsky region of Far East Russia, the Pacific Meridian Film Festival celebrated its 10th Anniversary, showcasing films from throughout the Asia Pacific region. The IOFF was chosen to show five of its 2012 program as part of the Environmental program of this festival. Screening over 200 films, the PMFF is the largest film festival of its kind in the Far East region of Russia. Simultaneously translated into Russian, the films well were received by audiences of all ages, and from across the globe: UK, Canada, Australia and the United States.
BOULDER, COLORADO
In 2012, the Colorado Ocean Coalition held its 2nd Annual Making Waves Symposium, an inland movement to raise awareness and engage the local community to help save the ocean, in Boulder, Colorado. The weekend was highlighted with films from the IOFF presented in three programs throughout the day on Saturday. Following was an inspiring day-long symposium on Sunday, featuring nationally recognized speakers, artists, local community ocean organizations and a special guest appearance by Jean-Michel Cousteau. The weekend culminated in an Ocean Celebration with live music, performances, and a silent auction.