Fall 2013

National Marine Sanctuaries

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

POWER

The

of Film
1 How Film Changes the World

2 Harnessing Film’s Power

4 Hollywood on Location

4 The Power of Projection

6 Film Festivals

8 Filmmaker Perspectives 

9 Star of the Sea: James Cameron

10 Ocean for Life

12 One World One Ocean

13 Aspiring Filmmakers

Film

In this Issue How Film Changes 

By Matt Dozier

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is part of NOAA’s 

National Ocean Service. 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 

20910 | Phone: 301-713-3125 | Web: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov

SANCTUARY WATCH is a publication of the Education, Outreach and 

New Media Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. NOAA is an 

agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

DIVISION chief............ Michiko Martin

editor.......................... Matt Dozier

Design/Layout .......... Matt McIntosh

Copy editors ............. Matt Dozier

 Katie Holmes

Cover Photo.............. iStock/Photolyric

 contributors

Matt Dozier Cirse Gonzalez

 Taryn Ocko Erin Powell

Mary Jane Schramm Lexie Sturm

Kate Thompson Lulu Ben Veniste

 Printed on Recycled Paper

Film has an undeniable power to move us. From the aweinspiring sight of humankind’s first steps on the Moon to 

the stirring final scene of Casablanca, to the gut-wrenching 

images of the World Trade Center Towers collapsing on Sept. 11, 

2001, visual images in all their different forms have changed 

the way we view the world around us for decades.

What is it about film that leaves 

us breathless, that shocks us 

and enthralls us in ways that 

no other medium can? Why 

are films such a vital part of our efforts to create a better future for the ocean? How do filmmakers make an impact in today’s noisy, alwaysconnected world?

In this issue, we will seek to answer these 

questions and more as we delve into the role 

of film as a force for change. We’ve spoken to 

filmmakers who have traveled the world on a 

quest to share stories that speak to people on 

a deep level and drive change for the ocean.

Bringing Humans into the Frame

It’s a powerful thing, watching a documentary about the ocean. The lights dim, 

the audience hushes, the projectors roll, 

and suddenly, our surroundings melt away 
 the World

as we’re transported to an underwater world 

without needing a wetsuit, fins or scuba gear. 

Ocean films have the power to terrify, as the 

blockbuster film Jaws did in 1975, but they 

can also open eyes and minds to an unexplored 

world, as Jacques-Yves Cousteau was able to do 

through his many films and TV specials.

Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jacques-Yves 

and himself a renowned ocean filmmaker, says 

that part of the reason the elder Cousteau’s 

films were so successful and produced such a 

lasting impact was that they took viewers along 

on an adventure. Rather than just showing images of a beautiful coral reef, for instance, they 

would show humans exploring the reef, which 

draws the audience into the scene and makes 

them more than just passive spectators.

“If you connect with other human beings 

on the screen, which is what my father started doing in the 1950s and I have done with 

my films, you feel you are part of the action, 

1895 – First movie ever 

made for projection 

 1925

 Birth of the 

 TV camera

1927

First feature 

film talkie: 

The Jazz 

Singer

 1944 

 First 

 Golden Globe 

awards 

1942 

Premiere of Bambi

 1905

 First movie 

 theatre, ‘The 

 Nickelodeon,’ 

 opened in 

 Pittsburgh

1946 – First mass- 

 produced television set

part of the mission,” Cousteau said. “I really 

believe that is the best way to communicate a 

message to the public.”

Voyage to Kure Makes a Splash

The power of images as a force for conservation was perhaps never more clear than in 

2006, shortly after Jean-Michel and his team 

had wrapped up shooting a PBS special titled 

Voyage to Kure in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Cousteau recalls being struck by the beauty 

and isolation of this remote wilderness, but 

also by its fragility. What appeared at first 

glance to be a pristine place, unspoiled by humans, revealed the hallmark of our global impact upon closer inspection: on the beaches, in 

the water and in the stomachs of dead birds, 

Cousteau found bits of plastic debris. He sat 

on the sand and counted litter from 52 nations 

in total. “That was a shock for me,” he says, “so 

much so that I said, ‘The world needs to know 

what’s going on here.’”

He showed the footage to the governor of 

Hawaii, who was “very, very concerned,” and 

decided to charter a plane to see the distant islands for herself. Jean-Michel and several others 

accompanied her on the 36-hour expedition, 

including then-Council on Environmental 

Quality Chairman James Connaughton. 

Connaughton, an avid scuba diver, subsequently returned to Washington and arranged 

for a White House screening of Voyage to Kure

with President George W. Bush, first lady 

Laura Bush, and special guests including Sylvia Earle. Cousteau says he was peppered with 

questions following the film and throughout 

the dinner that followed — clearly, the images 

had struck a chord. 

That was April 6, 2006. On June 15, President Bush declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a marine national monument 

Special Feature Throughout this issue, we’ve 

highlighted some of the major 

milestones in the history of 

film — both ocean-related and 

otherwise. Take a look!

Photo (opposite Page): Barbara MacGillivray, MacGillivray Freeman Films

1940s 1880s

to
Is the power of film really 

that important to our future? 

Yes, yes, yes! We all now recognize that the 

problems of ocean degradation and sustainability, and, hence, our very well-being, are 

the result of human behaviors and actions. 

It’s what we do every day that most impacts 

the world around us. Therefore, solutions 

must come from us, and the the changes 

we can make in our behaviors and actions. 

Film, in its various forms, has been shown to 

be the most effective way of communicating 

today. Studies show that, on average, people 

only retain 10% from reading text, but retain 

up to 95% from watching a film, especially a 

story. Further, when you see a film in a dark 

theater or even at home, you are able to 

shut out other distractions and focus on the 

sounds and images of the screen. 

Although we are not aware of it, our brains 

process and store information and content 

even after a film has ended. These connections are very powerful. The more you see a 

film, the more its messages take root. Combine the images and messages with music, 

and a multidimensional relationship is created. If you hear two bars from a Sound of 

Music tune, your recall of images and messages from the film comes alive!

Film is the most effective medium today with 

the power to reach all individuals in their personal space, and that’s why we are using film 

to concentrate attention on protecting special ocean areas. Protecting special places is 

our very best hope to protect the ocean. It’s 

time to better harness the power of film. 

By Daniel J. Basta

Photo: Jaime Windon

(now co-managed by NOAA as Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument), 

which at the time was the largest protected piece of ocean in the world. Cousteau 

said he had hoped the film would change the world, but credits the raw power of the 

footage for contributing to this conservation milestone.

“It wasn’t me, it was the images!” he says. “I never told [President Bush], ‘You have 

to protect it.’ It was what the president and his team were able to see on the screen that 

made him make that decision.”

Sharing Stories of Success

The story of Voyage to Kure is inspiring, but for every ocean film that creates a 

meaningful impact, there are 10 that mostly fall on deaf ears.

Karen Meyer, a 20-year veteran of environmental filmmaking, was contemplating 

this problem as she worked on a film about new strategies for ocean management 

around the U.S. She said she kept hearing about “ecosystem-based management,” and 

“marine spatial planning,” but knew that those terms would mean nothing to the vast 

majority of her audience. “We started to think about how we could convey these concepts in a tangible way that everyone could readily understand,” Meyer says.

Her search for tangible stories led her to communities where people had put these 

ideas to the test and worked to create positive change for themselves and the environment. She met marine biologists who worked with ship captains and port authorities 

to protect endangered whales in the busy Boston shipping lanes that crisscross Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. She met fishermen in Port Orford, Ore., 

who took bold action to protect their fisheries for the future by establishing Oregon’s 

first marine reserve. 

Those powerful stories — four in total — form the basis for Ocean Frontiers, a 

documentary released in 2011 that focuses on local solutions to problems facing 

the ocean. Meyer said emphasizing the good things that are happening in ocean 

conservation is critical at a time when people are constantly bombarded with bad 

news about the environment.

“I think it’s vitally important to show and tell these positive stories,” she said. “We 

rarely hear them, but they’re happening all around us. If we focus just on the problems, you’re left at the end of the film depressed and really not knowing what you 

can do about it.”

But the power of Ocean Frontiers goes beyond its message of hope — it’s who’s 

watching the film that is truly making a difference. “From the outset, we saw that distribution was key,” Meyer says. “You could tell the best story in the world, and if it sat 

on a shelf in somebody’s office, it wasn’t accomplishing anything.” They’ve made the 

film available for free, with a focus on small screenings for decision makers ranging 

from city councils to coastal planners to recreational fishermen. 

In just over a year, Meyer’s team has worked with 400 partners to organize more 

than 200 screenings of Ocean Frontiers in 31 states, nine countries and two U.S. territories, drawing upwards of 10,000 people. Audience members are asked to fill out 

a survey at the end of the film, with 85 percent responding that they came away with 

a greater understanding of ocean management and 94 percent saying they were inspired to get involved — genuinely impressive numbers for an ocean documentary.

Giant Screen, Giant Reach

If Karen Meyer and Ocean Frontiers are all about community-organized screenings and highly targeted outreach, then the giant-screen IMAX movies produced by 

MacGillivray Freeman Films fall somewhere near the other end of the communication spectrum.

Greg MacGillivray has shot and directed more than 35 IMAX films in his career, 

and his company was the first documentary filmmaking outfit to gross $1 billion in 

ticket sales. “The way that we sustain ourselves is through profit from our films,” MacGillivray says. “They have to be seen by a lot of people for us to succeed in our mission.”

And indeed, with a goal of reaching at least 20-50 million viewers with each film, 

MacGillivray Freeman’s films are a powerful platform for messages of ocean conHARNESSING FILM’S

POWER FOR CHANGE

2 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2013
1956 

Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s

 The Silent World 

 premieres 

 1951 

 First pay-per-view 

 system

servation and education through the company’s recently launched 

One World One Ocean campaign.

On top of reaching millions of people every year, MacGillivray 

says the IMAX experience leaves a stronger impression on audiences 

than traditional movie theaters. He says the sheer magnitude of the 

eight-story-tall screen makes it an arresting, deeply memorable experience. 

“IMAX has a certain power, because it demands your attention. 

The lights are off, there are no distractions, and it takes you to places 

in a way that feels like a first-hand experience.”

Looking to the Future

In today’s media-saturated environment, filmmakers face competition from myriad sources of information and entertainment, making 

it harder and harder to break through the noise and make an impact. 

But there are also opportunities to reach people in new ways, through 

new channels like streaming video and social media, something that 

One World One Ocean has used to great effect in its first year.

But while the venue, the audience, and the format of films may 

change over time, Jean-Michel Cousteau says, the core principle 

remains the same:

“You should always, always highlight the problem and present hope and solutions. I am a firm believer that as long as you 

never point a finger, you always have a dialogue, and you reach 

the heart, you will find a way to solve the problems we have created. 

We may have to do it differently than we did it in the past — but I 

don’t wear the same tie that used to wear 20 years ago, you know? We 

go through revolutions, and that’s part of it.”

that made him make that decision.”

able to see on the screen

“I never told [President Bush], ‘You have to protect it.’ 

It was what the president and his team were

“

Photo: Michele Hall, MacGillivray Freeman Films
The sun is setting over Monterey Bay National Marine 

Sanctuary, and Bob Talbot is out on the water. It’s a 

calm evening, the clouds in the sky draped like a richly colored tapestry over the bay. The hue of the sky 

grows more intense as the sun goes down, mirrored 

by a shimmering blaze of reds and oranges reflected 

on the water.

With scenery like this, national marine sanctuaries have been go-to 

filming locations for cinematographers for decades. From the Florida 

Keys to Monterey Bay to Hawaii, the same special qualities that make 

these places worth protecting also make them ideal subjects for filmmakers looking to capture the majesty of our ocean. As a filmmaker who 

spends a great deal of time in and around national marine sanctuaries, 

Talbot says he always finds inspiration in their waters.

“Sanctuaries are very effective storytelling devices,” he says. “They’re 

these magnificent vistas inhabited by rich and diverse collections of wildlife; they’re full of tales of exploitation and healing and preservation.”

Revealing a Hidden World

At Talbot’s home in Santa Cruz, Calif., the Monterey Bay sanctuary is 

practically in his backyard, offering endless opportunities to experience 

the wonders of the sea firsthand. “On any given day, I can glide through a 

kelp forest, be mobbed by sea lions or watch otters forage as whales spout 

in the distance,” he says. “It’s impossible to spend time here without being 

deeply affected by the natural beauty.”

Not everyone has that luxury, of course. For millions of people who live 

far from the coast, the ocean can seem distant and abstract — out of sight, 

out of mind. Even those who live along the shores of a national marine 

sanctuary may never venture beyond the beach, oblivious to the beautiful 

and fragile world under the waves. Unlike the national parks on land, for 

instance, marine sanctuaries don’t have entrances with big welcome signs, 

or clearly visible boundaries, or rangers in tan wetsuits directing visitors 

to underwater points of interest. 

POW

on Location in 

National Marine Sanctuaries

Over the years, some of Hollywood’s biggest films have 

used the breathtaking scenery found in national marine 

sanctuaries as a backdrop. From high-adrenaline action 

thrillers and slapstick comedies to classic love stories 

and chilling tales of horror, the movies are every bit as 

diverse as the sanctuaries they used for their settings.

By Cirse Gonzalez

2008 Forgetting

Sarah Marshall

Jason Segel’s painfully awkward 

“dive” from the cliffs at La’ie 

Point was filmed on the north 

shore of Oahu, part of Hawaiian 

Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

1994 True Lies

Florida Keys National Marine 

Sanctuary gets lots of screen 

time in James Cameron’s 

action-satire starring Arnold 

Schwarzenegger and Jamie 

Lee Curtis — especially during the climactic scene on the 

Keys’ iconic Seven Mile Bridge.

1980 The Fog

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary provides 

the eerie backdrop for John 

Carpenter’s creepy classic 

set around the historic Point 

Reyes Lighthouse in Northern 

California.

1958 South Pacific

In this screen adaptation of 

the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, love blossoms 

on Lumahai Beach on Kauai’s north shore, in full view 

of another section of Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale 

National Marine Sanctuary.

1935 Mutiny on the 

Bounty

Scenes from this epic clash 

between Captain Bligh and 

Fletcher Christian were shot 

in Monterey Bay National 

Marine Sanctuary aboard 

the vessels HMS Bounty and 

HMS Pandora.

The

Filmmakers Put National Marine 

By Cirse Gonzalez

4 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2013
WER

Sanctuaries in the Limelight

of Projection

“Sanctuaries are not always easily accessed, and for those that are, few users may know that 

they’re actually in one,” says Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Chief of Communications 

Matthew Stout. “We rely on films to help us spread the message — to share the story of our 

sanctuaries with those on shore.”

That’s what makes film such an important part of global efforts to save the 

ocean from catastrophe: it makes the invisible undersea world visible, bringing 

it into sight — and into the minds — of audiences worldwide.

Images with Purpose

Capturing and sharing fantastic, imagination-defying images of that watery 

realm is Talbot’s specialty. The world-renowned photographer, filmmaker and environmentalist has shared his vision of the ocean with millions of people around 

the world through lithograph prints, TV shows and films including Free

Willy, Flipper and the MacGillivray Freeman IMAX film Dolphins. 

A member of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s board of 

trustees since 2004, Talbot has also devoted a great deal of time and 

energy to promoting our national marine sanctuaries. He has directed 

beautiful short films like Sanctuary in the Sea: A Gulf of the Farallones 

Experience and One Breath: A Monterey Bay Experience that capture the 

beauty and power of the sanctuaries and feature prominently in sanctuary 

visitor centers and museums.

Talbot says his goal in filming ocean scenes is to do more than just entertain audiences — he wants to inspire them to take responsibility for 

protecting what they see on the screen. “The ocean is in trouble, and 

the window in which we have any hope of saving it is rapidly closing,” 

he says. “We now have the technology to reach millions of people 

with a keystroke, but the challenge is to punch through all the noise 

that technology creates and motivate people to act.”

Film special places. Share them with the world. Make a difference. 

It sounds simple enough, although Talbot knows as well as anyone how 

great a challenge it is. But as he glides across Monterey Bay in the fading twilight, the reflection of the moon wavering on the tranquil water, 

he finds hope — hope that with time, and hard work by those who care 

deeply about our ocean, the world will come to fully appreciate these 

special places before it is too late.

1969 

Sony introduces first 

home VCR 1965 

Thunderball, 

the fourth James Bond 

movie, is released

Photo: ©1986 Dan Donley
L

ong-distance rower Roz 

Savage had just screened a 

film about her transatlantic 

voyage at the San Francisco 

International Ocean Film 

Festival, and the atmosphere 

was electric. Members of the 

audience, many of them teenagers, waved 

frantically for a chance to ask her a question. 

As Savage shared the fears, loneliness and triumphs of her 3,000-mile journey, captured 

in the documentary Rowing the Atlantic, the 

teens — some of them about to embark on 

new adventures of their own — listened to 

her every word with rapt attention.

“When you have a chance to hear firsthand from the person who made a film, they 

can provide all these interesting stories and 

insights you would never get otherwise,” said 

Ana Blanco, executive director of the San 

Francisco International Ocean Film Festival 

(SFIOFF, for short). “It really brings the audience that much closer to the message.

Film Festivals:

“Where else do you go to get to talk to great 

filmmakers and great scientists doing amazing 

work [and] whose stories you want to tell?” said 

Debbie Kinder, founder of the BLUE Ocean 

Film Festival and Conservation Summit. “This 

is how we change the world. This is how we can 

get this information out on a wide scale.” 

Following in the footsteps of SFIOFF, 

BLUE was started by Kinder and her husband 

in 2009 in the seaside town of Monterey, Calif. — another area with close ties to a national 

marine sanctuary. Their goal was to provide a 

forum where the film, conservation and industry communities could share ideas and resources while showcasing the world’s best ocean 

films. The event grew rapidly, featuring more 

than 100 films at its most recent festival in 

2012 along with gala events, expert panels and 

keynote presentations by ocean champions like 

Sylvia Earle and Jean-Michel Cousteau.

But while these two prominent festivals are 

big draws in their respective cities, their reach 

doesn’t end at the city limits — not even close.

More than Just Films

One of the oldest and best-known ocean 

film festivals in the world, SFIOFF has been 

showcasing powerful images and stories from 

the underwater world for the past decade. The 

festival was co-founded by Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in 2004 and 

celebrated its tenth anniversary in March, 

drawing more than 2,600 ocean-loving moviegoers to San Francisco’s Pier 39 for four days 

of festivities. 

As evidenced by the throng of young attendees who flocked to see Roz Savage, the films on 

the screen are just part of the draw for SFIOFF. 

The 2012 festival was packed with events like 

filmmaker Q&A sessions, panel discussions 

and a student film competition. What makes it 

and other film festivals special, Blanco said, is 

the sense of community they create — the excitement and energy generated when so many 

passionate people gather to interact, engage 

and appreciate the wonders of the ocean.

Bringing the Ocean to Communities

By Mary Jane Schramm

and Matt Dozier

6 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2013
Ocean Film Festivals Go Global

 Like the ocean-crossing rower Roz Savage, 

both SFIOFF and BLUE have become international travelers in recent years, sharing films 

and conservation messages with communities 

in such far-flung locations as Australia, Hong 

Kong and Russia.

“It’s been fantastic,” Kinder said of BLUE, 

which recently kicked off a tour of universities 

in China and is scheduled to debut in Monaco in the near future. “We actually aren’t able 

to keep up with all the demand.”

Blanco said ocean film festivals have helped 

boost the visibility of ocean films over the past 

decade, which in turn has led to a dramatic 

increase in the number of films submitted to 

SFIOFF in recent years. “By creating a broad 

platform for films to be shown globally,” she 

said, “we’re encouraging more and more filmmakers to focus on what’s happening in the 

world’s oceans.” 

It’s important to note that by “global,” 

Blanco doesn’t just mean outside the U.S. 

Boulder, Colo. — one of several American 

cities to embrace traveling ocean film festivals — recently began screening films from 

SFIOFF at its annual Making Waves Symposium, with the goal of bringing ocean images 

to a landlocked audience.

“We want to create an inland ocean movement,” Blanco said. “The goal is getting people 

to connect the dots that what they do in 

Boulder affects everything downstream, all 

the way to the ocean and coast.”

From the Sanctuary to the Screen

Certainly, a film festival’s international 

reach isn’t the only measure of its success. 

Sometimes, the most important thing is 

the strong connection it creates with its local community.

Take the Gray’s Reef Ocean 

Film Festival in Savannah, Ga., for 

example. Sponsored by Gray’s Reef 

National Marine Sanctuary, the festival has played a special role in the 

sanctuary’s relationship to its local 

community for the past decade, linking visitors with the largely inaccessible underwater world.

“Gray’s Reef is too far away and 

too deep for most people to visit 

in person, so our film festival helps 

bring the ocean to the audience,” 

said Greg McFall, Gray’s Reef sanctuary superintendent.

More than 2,000 people attended 

the festival’s tenth anniversary event 

in 2012, which featured screenings and other events at venues 

including the Jepson Center for 

the Arts, the historic Trustees 

1976

IMAX film To Fly

Released

 1973

 Debut of The 

 Undersea 

 World of 

 Jacques 

Cousteau

Notable celebrities in attendance at 

recent ocean film festivals have included 

James Cameron and Robert Ballard (top 

right), Jean-Michel Cousteau (top left), 

Prince Albert II of Monaco (middle left), 

and Edward James Olmos (bottom left).

Theatre, and the Savannah College of Art & 

Design’s Museum of Art. 

“With a film festival, we are able to inspire, 

excite, educate and inform large numbers of 

local people and tourists,” McFall said. “The 

return on investment is incalculable.” 

Photos (Left to right, top to bottom): Chad King/MBNMS; Kerry Belser; Matt McIntosh/ONMS; Matt McIntosh/ONMS; Matt McIntosh/ONMS; Matt McIntosh/ONMS; Amy Rath/GRNMS
 FILMMAKER PERSPECTIVES: 

Making Films Count

By Matt Dozier

Say you’re an environmental filmmaker, and you want to make a film that 

will change the world. A film that will 

change people’s minds, open their eyes to 

a problem, and motivate them to take 

action. Sounds good, right?

It’s a noble goal, but with ever-increasing competition for the eyes of audiences 

around the globe, is just making a film 

really enough these days? The answer, 

increasingly, seems to be a resounding 

“no.” We asked some world-renowned 

ocean filmmakers how they make their 

films count — in other words, how they 

ensure that their work creates the greatest 

possible impact on the largest possible 

audience. Here’s what 

they had to say:

 Watch the full video 

of their responses on the 

 Web at youtube.com/sanctuaries

Jean-Michel Cousteau

Ocean Futures Society 

“In my opinion, the best way to 

convey a message to the public and 

be successful in what that message 

is about, is not only to show the 

beauty, the extraordinary diversity, 

but to do that with a human presence, so people can relate to those 

in the ocean and feel a part of it. 

Showing what we depend upon, and 

how connected we are, is the best 

way to make people take action.”

Bob Talbot

Talbot Productions

“The most important element in 

an environmental film is providing 

people with actions that will effect 

meaningful change. It’s not just 

about getting them to feel sympathetic toward an animal, feel concerned about a habitat, or worried 

about their kids’ futures. What’s most 

important is that we give them the 

tools to make a real difference.”

Chris Palmer

American University

“The reason why I make environmental films is to make a difference — to 

make a palpable, tangible, measurable difference to society. If the films 

don’t make a difference, either in 

people’s behavior or social policy, 

then why bother to make them?”

Karen Meyer

Green Fire Productions 

“One of the most important ways 

that filmmakers can have an impact 

on today’s world is to share success 

stories. What we’ve found is that 

these success stories are one of 

the most inspiring ways to motivate 

people to make similar changes in 

the communities where they live.”

Photo: iStock/selimaksan

8 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2013
STAR of the SEA

James Cameron

Legendary Filmmaker Shifts Attention from 

Exploration to Conservation

By Matt Dozier

B

y any measure, James Cameron is a pioneer. From his 

blockbuster motion pictures 

with groundbreaking special 

effects to his self-funded venture to the deepest point in the 

ocean, the world-renowned filmmaker-explorer 

has pushed boundaries throughout his career.

Now, Cameron says he’s setting course for 

uncharted waters, as he plans to make ocean 

conservation a greater focus in his films. At 

last year’s BLUE Ocean Film Festival in Monterey, where Cameron was honored with a 

Lifetime Achievement Award, he revealed a 

shift in his mindset, both as a filmmaker and 

an environmentalist:

“My epiphany recently, having made Avatar

and accomplished the deep ocean exploration, 

is that I need to shift gears pretty radically,” 

he said in his acceptance speech. “I need to 

put what I know about making films and about 

capturing the heart and mind of an audience 

toward the goal of helping our living planet — 

especially the ocean, which is my first love.”

Cameron’s past films have incorporated 

ocean settings to great effect — look no further than Titanic or The Abyss for evidence 

of that — but until now, they haven’t actively 

championed conservation of the underwater 

world they portray.

“The ocean films that I’ve done have all 

been about deep exploration,” he said. “That 

draws attention to the oceans, but I’m not really making films about ... the challenge that 

we need to embrace as a species in order to 

protect our biosphere.”

Other highlights of Cameron’s speech included a pledge to make the plans for the $15 

million Deepsea Challenger — the submersible he piloted solo to the bottom of the Mariana 

Trench in 2012 — open-source and freely available to the scientific community. In June, he 

visited Capitol Hill for a Senate hearing and public events promoting ocean science and exploration. The Deepsea Challenger, which Cameron donated to the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

Institution, also made the trip to D.C. to help spark interest in the cause.

So, is an “Avatar for the oceans” really on the horizon? 

Cameron has revealed in interviews 

that Avatar 2 will highlight the underwater world of Pandora, the 

fictional planet that provided 

the backdrop for the tremendously successful first film. 

He said the sequel will also 

continue the strong environmental themes that resonated 

throughout Avatar.

Whether it’s through 

the masterful storytelling and captivating imagery 

of his films, or 

through future 

expeditions to 

the deepest and 

most remote corners of the sea, Cameron made 

it clear that he is committed to 

making a difference for our blue 

planet in the years to come.

“We care about the oceans. 

Our hearts are breaking for 

what’s happening in 

the oceans, and we’ve 

got to do something 

about it.”

 1989

 James 

 Cameron’s 

 The Abyss 

 released

1987

 Discovery 

Channel 

premieres 

“Shark 

Week”

Photos: Matt McIntosh, ONMS
Agroup of students huddles 

together on Hendry’s 

Beach in Santa Barbara, 

Calif., marveling at a tiny 

sand crab as it burrows into the soft sand at 

the edge of the water.

Ten feet away, 16-year-old Noora stands behind a tripod and peers intently into a video 

camera. She’s a long way from her home in 

Muharraq, Bahrain, surrounded by people she’s 

only just met, but she doesn’t seem the least bit 

shy or uncertain. While the camera rolls, she 

reaches in front of the lens and makes the shape 

of a heart with her fingers, framing the 

scene. These young men and women, all perfect strangers just two 

weeks ago, are her friends.

This is Ocean for Life.

Many Nations, One Ocean

At its most basic level, Ocean for Life is 

an educational program hosted by NOAA’s 

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries that 

brings together high school students from 

across the United States and the Middle East 

to learn about ocean science, conservation 

and filmmaking. But ask anyone who has participated in the program, and they will tell 

you it is much, much more than that.

The 2013 Ocean for Life field study took 

place from June 22 through July 4 at the UC 

Santa Barbara Marine Science Institute and 

on Santa Cruz Island, within the waters of 

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The 30 participants hailed from all over 

the United States, including New York, California, Mississippi, Michigan, Hawaii and 

Washington, D.C., and from seven different 

Middle Eastern countries including Lebanon, 

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain 

and Oman.

Ocean for Life operates on the belief that 

through a shared interest in science and a 

joint effort to document their experiences on 

film, the differences between these culturally 

and ethnically diverse students begin to fade, 

leaving a group of teenagers who love the 

O

Students Find their Voice through Film

cean for Life

By Taryn Ocko

Photos (left to right): Kate Thompson/OFL, Samaah Jaffer/OFL

Photo: Kate Thompson/OFL

10 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2013
same music, laugh at the same jokes, and work 

together to explore and protect something 

they all have in common: the ocean. 

Inspiration and Expression 

through Film

With the guidance of experienced mentors 

from ocean filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society, the students 

learned how to take photographs, shoot video 

and put together short films on concepts like 

environmental responsibility and interconnectedness. Despite the differences in their 

cultural upbringings, political backgrounds, 

religious beliefs and native languages, they 

showed impressive teamwork and a keen 

awareness of the power that film has to reach 

great distances and inspire broad audiences.

“Filming inspires me,” said Haneen, a 16-yearold student from Qatar. “It’s like writing — it’s 

a way of expressing yourself. Even if you are shy, 

you can expose yourself to the world.” 

Tracy Hajduk, an education specialist at 

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, said filmmaking is an integral part of the 

Ocean for Life experience because it encourages the participants to think hard about what 

they have learned and how they would share 

those lessons with others.

“It really is a tremendous experience for the 

students,” Hadjuk said. “Creating these films 

helps prepare them to become ambassadors 

for ocean conservation and cultural understanding wherever they go.”

Filming for the Future

As graduates of Ocean for Life share their 

films and messages with other young people 

in their local communities, creating a ripple 

effect that spreads far and wide, ocean filmmakers and scientists around the world are 

also seeking to capture the interest of a new 

generation of ocean stewards through film.

Mike Heithaus, a marine biologist and 

executive director of the School of Environment, Arts, and Society at Florida International University, explained that visual media 

are far and away the best tools for reaching 

young audiences. “If they watch a video, 

they’ll get it. If they see a photo, they might 

get it. If they just read something, they probably won’t,” Heithaus said.

But how do we make the ocean relevant for 

someone who isn’t near the ocean? Educational filmmakers Laura and Robert Sams of 

Oregon-based Sisbro Studios are 

trying to answer that question. The sister-brother duo has created award-winning films like The 

Shark Riddle and The Riddle in a Bottle, which 

uses music and humor to teach children about 

how the ocean “connects us all together,” no matter where you live, Laura Sams said. 

The Ocean for Life students grasp that connection better than most. “We have to understand what’s happening to our ocean, and why 

it needs to be saved now,” said 17-year-old Nakoa from Hawaii. “I want to remind people, 

mai poina ko ‘oukou kuleana — do not forget 

your responsibility.”

For Nakoa and his fellow students, this responsibility is two-fold: learn to protect the 

ocean, and use the power of film to pass that 

knowledge on to others.

 1990

 1st episode of Captain 

 Planet mentions National 

 Marine Sanctuaries
“

One World One Ocean

How MacGillivray Freeman Films is Thinking BIG about Ocean Communication

Greg’s own story began on 

the sun-soaked beaches 

of Southern California in 

the 1960s, where he fell in 

love with surfing as a teenager and began shooting 

documentary films about surf culture, the first 

of which was released his freshman year in college. Today, he’s an award-winning filmmaker 

with more than 35 IMAX titles to his credit, 

grossing more than $1 billion in total.

It’s safe to say that Greg knows a thing or 

two about telling a good story. But these days, 

it’s not just about how you tell the story — it’s 

how you share it. That’s the idea behind One 

World One Ocean, a multimedia campaign 

launched by MacGillivray Freeman Films in 

2012 that aims to tackle some of the biggest 

challenges facing the ocean.

One World One Ocean Managing Director 

Shaun MacGillivray, who started working for his 

father’s company in high school, said the inspiration for a large-scale ocean education effort came 

from his father’s deep connection to the ocean 

and his concern for the future of the planet.

“My dad has one major, major conservation 

passion, and that’s the ocean,” Shaun MacGillivray said. “It stems from his roots, it stems 

from where he lives — he grew up in Newport 

Beach, and he’s seen his own backyard change 

dramatically over the last 50 years.” 

Together with his father and his mother, 

Barbara, Shaun MacGillivray said the family decided they would use their filmmaking 

expertise and connections to try to do something that would “move the needle” of ocean 

awareness on an unprecedented scale. 

With a budget of $200 million over 20 

years, the goals for One World One Ocean are 

ambitious — 10 ocean-themed IMAX films 

and 100 billion “impressions” in the first 10 

years of the campaign. MacGillivray Freeman 

plans to release a new ocean film every year 

as part of the campaign, along with a steady 

stream of online videos, social media, television shows, and educational content for more 

than 250 museums and aquariums worldwide.

“We’ve created a huge network of partners, 

we have an online community that’s continually growing, and we have all these different 

platforms to take our content that can all feed 

off of each other,” Shaun MacGillivray said.

The results of One World One Ocean’s first 

year have been impressive. The campaign’s 

award-winning first film, To the Arctic, was the 

top-grossing IMAX film of 2012, and its YouTube channel received 3.2 million views over 

the course of the year. In June 2012, the team 

conducted a six-day expedition titled “Mission: 

Aquarius” to the undersea research habitat of 

the same name in Florida Keys National Marine 

Sanctuary, gaining national media attention for 

the one-of-a-kind facility. In total, One World 

One Ocean’s combined outreach efforts for the 

year tallied 5.9 billion potential impressions.

It’s a good start, but the road to global appreciation of the ocean is a long uphill climb. Greg 

MacGillivray said his next ocean film will feature 

the coral reefs of Raja Ampat in Indonesia, followed by a movie about humpback whales that 

will include footage shot in Hawaiian Islands 

Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

There’s hardly time for the team to stop and 

take a breath, but Greg emphasized their commitment to the cause. “Ultimately,” he said, “we 

hope to get a billion people to say, ‘The ocean is 

as important as land — the ocean is critical to 

our lives, and we’d better pay attention.’”

By Matt Dozier

When it comes to changing people’s minds about the ocean, it all starts with a story. 

Just ask Greg MacGillivray, president of MacGillivray Freeman Films and the man behind 

some of the most successful giant-screen IMAX movies in history. 

‘The ocean is

 “Ultimately, we hope 

to get a billion people to say,

as important as land.’ 

Photo: Florian Schulz/Visions of The Wild

12 Sanctuary Watch Fall 2013
By Erin Powell

Watch the full interviews at 

youtube.com/sanctuaries 

There may be no demographic better-equipped or more motivated 

to drive the medium forward 

than these energetic young men 

and women, all current or recent students 

of increasingly popular graduate programs 

that revolve around telling environmental 

stories through film. Armed with technical 

savvy, an eye for storytelling, and a keen 

awareness of our rapidly changing environment, they are ready to take the film world 

by storm. Here’s what these rising stars had 

to say about the need for, and challenges of, 

environmental filmmaking in today’s world.

Sarah Gulick

“I think filmmaking is really just 

another way of communicating. It’s a way of closing gaps 

and bringing people together 

and sharing experiences. The 

more that we can do that, the 

more I think that we understand 

ourselves, but also our relationship with our environment. Film 

helps bring an understanding, 

and understanding contributes 

to solutions.”

LAUREN

NEVILLE

“I think we owe a bit 

of ourselves to the 

world around us. We 

need to give back in 

a positive light. I myself want to leave the 

world a little bit better 

than it was when I 

first came into it, and 

I think that film is the 

best way to do that.”

Aspiring Filmmakers Share their Goals & Inspiration

Sylvia 

 Johnson

 Sarah

Gulick

Brian Kelley

Erin Finicane

Taryn 

 Ocko

 Lauren 

Neville

SYLVIA JOHNSON

“Film reaches people on an emotional level that other kinds of writing, 

texts and facts can’t really do. It has the ability to really move people in 

a way that’s different. It’s also much more accessible in today’s world.”

BRIAN KELLEY

“Right now we’re at a critical time 

in making decisions about how we 

as humans interact with the planet, 

and filmmakers have an incredible 

responsibility to connect the next 

generation to solutions and make 

positive changes. My goal is to get 

the people who maybe aren’t that 

interested or aren’t that knowledgeable about things like climate 

change, who wouldn’t normally be 

interested in those issues, to watch 

environmental films.”

ERIN FINICANE

“Nowadays you don’t have to 

be rich and you don’t have to 

be powerful or in a position of 

authority to be a change-maker. 

I think that everyone, you and 

I, we all have these tools at our 

disposal to bring about positive 

change. Film is one of those 

tools. As filmmakers, we’re in 

a better position than most to 

advocate for our planet.”

TARYN OCKO

“There are so many crucial issues that people 

need to know about and understand, especially 

when it comes to ocean conservation. I would 

love to make films that help raise awareness 

about these issues and open people’s eyes, while 

at the same time showing them something that’s 

really artistic and beautiful, but also entertaining.

GARETH BURGES

“There are so many places in the 

world that not everybody can get to, 

not everybody can see, but a lot of 

those places are in danger or need 

to be protected. I’m fortunate that 

I’ve been able to see some of these 

places, and I want to share what 

I’ve seen with everybody else.” 

Next Generation

The 

Meet the future of environmental filmmaking. 

Gareth Burges
The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the charitable non-profit partner organization to NOAA’s 

National Marine Sanctuary System, has been a major supporter of ocean films for decades. The foundation has worked with numerous filmmakers and film festivals around the world to produce and 

screen conservation-oriented films like the ones shown above. 

To find out how you can play an active role in helping the foundation protect and promote our national 

marine sanctuaries, contact Katie@nmsfocean.org or find them on the Web at www.NMSFocean.org.