# San Francisco Ocean Film Festival

The International Ocean Film Festival (IOFF), formerly the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, is a film festival held in San Francisco, CA, that features films about marine life, the ocean, coastal cultures and conservation. The 2013 event took place from March 7–10, 2013, at Theater 39 on Pier 39 and featured a multimedia presentation by Jean-Michel Cousteau at the opening gala.
Celebrating its 10th edition in 2013, this is the first dedicated Ocean Film Festival in North America and the second in the world after the acclaimed Festival International du Film Maritime, exploration et l'environnement, in Toulon, France, founded in 1954. The IOFF has become the premier venue for international marine filmmakers to screen their works to a growing North American audience and has inspired the creation of several other ocean film festivals in the US, including the Blue Ocean Film Festival.
All films selected for the festival are eligible to compete for awards in Adventure, Coastal Culture, Environment, Conservation, Short Film, and Wildlife categories.

## History

The International Ocean Film Festival was founded in 2004 and is a volunteer-driven 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The IOFF has offered a different program each year. Past award winners have included:
Wildlife Film: Sex under the Sea (Belgium), Etienne Verhaegen; Giants of the Dee (Germany), Ralf Kiefner & Andrea Ramalho
Adventure Film: Rescue Men: The Story of the Pea Island Surfmen (USA), Allan Smith; Come Hell or High Water (USA), Keith Malloy
Animated Film: I’m Going to Bite Someone (USA), Steve Dildarian
Coastal Culture Film: Papa Mau (USA), Na’alehu Anthony; The Giant and the Fisherman (Italy), Manfred Bortoli
Environmental Film: Sanctuary in the Sea (USA), Robert Talbot; Plastic Paradise – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (USA), Angela Sun
Conservation Film: In the Wake of Giants (USA), Lou Douros; Saving the Ocean – The Sacred Islands (USA), John Angier
Short Film: The Krill is Gone (USA), Jeffrey Bost & Matt Briggs; Sinistre – (Indonesia), Jose Lachat

## Education program

The International Ocean Film Festival creates and gives student and family programs to educate themselves about ocean conservation, inspire viewers to make their own films, and encourage advocacy for the protection of ocean ecosystems. The 2011 student program took place from March 9–11, screening a dozen films and hosting a range of guest speakers for middle and high school student audiences from public, private, and home schools. The three days of free programming included free tours of the Aquarium of the Bay, as well as curriculum support and study guides relating to IOFF films.
Reservations are required for the IOFF education program.
* Past Student Festival Films
* Amazing Jellies
* In the Wake of Giants
* Kilauea Sea Turtles
* Monsterboards
* One River
* Save Sharks Don’t Serve Them
* The Coral Gardener
* The Bay Vs. The Bag
* The Krill Is Gone
* The Majestic Plastic Bag
* The Ocean Zone (Student Film)
* Yao Ming Shark Fin Soup
* Connection
* Gigantic Jenga
* The Great Huki
* Ocean Oases: Protecting Seamounts and Canyons of the Atlantic
* Pacific Drifters
* Plastic Tide
* Whale Disentanglement Network
* The Mermaid – A Story of Restoration (2012 winner)
The family program, directed to a younger audience, was held over two days, from March 12–13, 2011, with discounted admission. The films shown at family festival include:
* 2011 Family Festival Films
* Abby Sunderland Sets Sail
* Amazing Jellies
* Birdathlon
* Chasing the Swell
* Home for Hawksbill
* Killer Whales
* Physics of Surfing
* Raja Ampat
* The Bay vs The Bag
* The Coral Gardener
* Willem and the Whales