Fantastic footage from above and below the water’s surface features in a series of short films coming to Cambridge
Immerse yourself in the wonders of the sea on 6 October, when the Ocean Film Festival World Tour arrives in Cambridge, at the Corn Exchange, to share a showcase of awe-inspiring short films.
Offering a spellbinding look at life above and below the water’s surface, the 2017 programme sees intrepid freedivers exploring an eerie shipwreck, nomadic sailors face the icy waters of Antarctica and spectacular footage of marine life including humpback whales and the endangered Giant Pacific manta ray.
The festival, which originates in Australia, is from the team behind the Banff Film Festival, and celebrates the divers, paddlers, surfers and oceanographers who dedicate their lives to the marvels and mysteries of the ocean.
“We’re delighted to be bringing the Ocean Film Festival World Tour back to UK audiences for the fourth year running,” says Tour Director Nell Teasdale. “Featuring incredible cinematography, the films capture the raw beauty and power of the ocean, while celebrating an eclectic and fascinating mix of characters who live for the sea’s salt spray.”
Highlights from this year’s programme include Sea Gypsies, which follows a free-spirited crew about to embark on an extraordinary 8,000-mile voyage from New Zealand to Patagonia, taking in the intimidating iceberg-strewn waters of Antarctica along the way.
Whale Chasers, meanwhile, shines a spotlight on the group of ‘citizen scientists’ who sit atop the rugged cliffs above New Zealand’s Cook Strait. A motley gang of men in their 70s and 80s, they’re keeping watch for humpback whales as part of the Cook Strait Whale Count – a study into the recovery of New Zealand’s humpback population since the end of New Zealand whaling in 1964. It’s tiring but rewarding work – but the reason that these volunteers are so good at their job is that, as well as being descendants of New Zealand’s 200-year history of whaling, they were all once whalers themselves…
Fishpeople looks at the ocean’s limitless opportunities for fun and freedom, speaking with surfers, spearfishers and a group of at-risk kids in San Francisco; all of whom can vouch for the transformative effects of time spent in the sea.
Tickets are £15.75.
