The International Ocean Film Tour 2017 Volume 4 managed to delight the visitors of the Karlsruhe Concert Hall (Konzerthaus) on 3rd may 2017, when breathtaking images of the aquatic universe revealed the astonishing beauty of the sea, its surface, and its wondrous depths. The spectators were allowed to marvel at the Icelandic snow-covered waters and the clashing waves on the coast of Hawaii. They were offered exciting insights, enthralling stories and tales.
The event, was, as one would expect, sold out. Already hours before the beginning of the show, people gathered on the premises and waited eagerly to enter the hall and partake in the event. The staging of the opening aimed at providing the visitors with some food for thought. At the beginning of the event, a perfectly matching advertising was shown: A fisher seemed to struggle to catch the attention of the by-passers with his fresh sea capture. The customers turned away in disgust, since he had no actual fish to offer. Everything he managed to extract from the sea was plastic and rubbish, which had been floating on the surface of the water.
Clemens, a team member of the International Tour 2017 presented the events. The filmmaker Erick Higuera conversed about his film, The Legacy, during the breaks.
THE ACCORD
Island / USA 2016
Direction: RC Cone
Actors: Heiðar Logi Elíasson, Gudmundur Thorarinn
Production: Tributaries Digital Cinema
19 minutes
Heiðar Logi Elíasson’s photography discloses the gripping natural forces dominating the Icelandic scenery. The surfer enters a temporary truce with the unpredictable force of the wind, so that he can catch the perfect wave. His personification of the elements contributes to a particularly vivid image of the relationship between Elíasson and nature.
THE LEGACY
Mexico 2016
Direction: Erick Higuera, Eréndira Valle
Production: Erick Higuera
5 minutes
The short film presents exciting images of the deep sea and draws attention to the urgency involved in protecting the sea inhabitants. By means of special programs, man could contribute in repopulating species which are on the edge of extinction.
THE WEEKEND SAILOR
Mexico 2016
Direction: Bernardo Arsuaga
Actors: Ramón Carlín, Enrique Carlín
40 minutes
Ramon Carlin actually wanted to prevent his son from a precipitous marriage when he decided to undertake a globe-circling regatta: The Whitebread Round the World Yacht Race. Together with his international team, he took up the race and succeeded as champion, despite common opinion condemning him to failure. The film managed to seize the attention of the public, to take hold of the visitors’ emotions, and provided them with an impressing and rewarding ending. The cheer and the general enthusiasm expressed by the spectators was genuine and overwhelming.
JOHANNA UNDER THE ICE
UK 2016
Direction: Ian Derry
Actors: Johanna Nordblad
3 minutes
The curative powers of the ice are revealed in a story of loss and recovery. In the film made by Ian Derry, Johanna Nordblad talks about the therapeutic effect which ice water had on her body, after she had massively damaged her leg in a serious accident. Diving under the thick layers of ice has become a true passion of the brave survivor.
CHAPTER ONE
Niederlande 2016
Regie: Bob van de Gronde
Produktion: Eyeforce
Production in association with Red Bull Media House
10 minutes
Perfect kite-surfing is done on perfect waves, like those crashing on the shores of Hawaii, Fiji and Necker. The interplay of water and wind meets the expectations of ideal kite-surfing conditions. Professional Kite-surfer Robby Naish explains that kite-surfing provides him with the wonderful opportunity to discover and explore new places and experiences. He is taken up in the harmony between his own energy, the water and the wind.
A PLASTIC OCEAN
USA 2016
Direction: Craig Leeson
Production: Adam Leipzig, Jo Ruxton
20 minutes
Plastic is wonderful because it is durable. Plastic is dreadful because it is durable.
The film “A Plastic Ocean” tries to raise increased awareness about the fact that, besides fish and other marine creatures, people are directly affected by the pollution of the seas. While humans are not generally prone to swallow up big pieces of plastic, like the various inhabitants of the deep waters, micro-plastics – which is constituted of tiny plastic particles – is easily ingested and sets down into the flesh of the fish and shellfish. While we indulge in the consumption of sea-food, we easily forget how much intake in plastic our own body has to manage. And while some of us do not think about the habitat of the marine creatures, we might want to think about it as our own habitat, which we pollute with extensive production and disposal of plastic.
This habitat is not ours alone to spoil. Various other animal species are direct victims of the global pollution the production of plastic had led to. Birds gather polluted bits of food to feed their young. 276 pieces of plastic have been identified in the body of a bird that was only three months old.
Plastic, however, is not the only element polluting the seas. About 4000 meters deep, metal pieces and parts of tires are contaminating the marine biotope. While everyone is aware of the negative effects of pollution, nobody know for sure how much plastic our seas have to cope with. Certainly pollution has increased over the last 50 years. Sooner or later we will understand that the ocean is not a remote insignificant part of our biosphere, and we will be forced to deal with the consequences. These will be much more severe if we do not intervene as soon as possible.
SHOREBREAK – The Clark Little Story
USA 2016
Direction: Peter King
Production: FIND YOUR CALLING presents in association with POSTMILL STUDIOS
18 minutes
Passionate photographer Clark Little chases a unique image: that of the waves crashing on the sunburnt coast of Hawaii. Indeed, his images reveal the fascinating and seemingly timeless breaking point and scattering of the foaming waters on the damp and shiny sand.
Further Information: www.oceanfilmtour.com
Images:
Cinema © Anika Seitz
Title Image © Ocean Film Tour
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