Australian audiences will be able to immerse themselves in the wonders of the ocean without getting their feet wet this March as the Ocean Film Festival Australia hits cinemas across the country.
The festival, which features seven of the world’s most captivating ocean-themed short films, five Australian cinematic premiers and two world premiers will light up silver screens in seventeen towns and cities.
Designed to mesmerise and enthral, the Ocean Film Festival Australia showcases more than two hours of sublime footage taken above and below the water’s surface. The films document the beauty and power of the ocean, and celebrate the divers, surfers, swimmers and oceanographers who live for the sea’s salt spray; who chase the crests of waves; and who marvel at the mysteries of the big blue. {youtube}9cXuEIjD3B4{/youtube}
The films feature captivating cinematography, complete with awe-inspiring underwater scenes and fast-paced wave sequences that have been captured from unbelievable vantage points. Mesmerising images of schooling fish, colourful coral gardens and jellyfish blooms are complemented with up-close footage of curious marine creatures such as seals, sharks, dolphins and turtles.
Heart-stopping shots of surfers riding wild waves and adrenalin-inducing scenes of divers swimming with white sharks will leave audiences on the edges of their seats. Viewers will gasp for breath as they follow champion free diver Hanli Prinsloo deep below the surface on her quest to be at one with water and the ocean’s most feared predator – the shark. 
The films encourage viewers to dive headfirst into ocean culture. Share in six-year-old Quincy Symonds' joy as she discovers surfing and earns her moniker of the flying squirrel; be lured into the waters off Bali as surfer, diver and sailor Bruno recounts how the ocean saved him after an accident left him a paraplegic; and get invited to discover the charm and passion of the 62-year-old Viking boat craftsman known as the Fox of Bloody Woman Island. 
Inspiring and thought-provoking, the Ocean Film Festival Australia is filled with moving footage, touching interviews and insightful narrations. Each of the festival’s films conveys a deep respect and appreciation for the world’s oceans and the creatures that call them home.
Committed to conserving the big blue, $1 from every ticket sold at Ocean Film Festival is donated to either Project Aware or Australian Marine Conservation Society.
Ocean Film Festival Tour Dates
Wed 4 March – Eldorado Cinema (Brisbane)Thu 5 March – Riverway Arts Centre (Townsville)
Fri 6 March – Cairns Civic Theatre (Cairns)
Sat 7 March – Sun Pictures (Broome)
Tue 10 March – The Arts Centre (Gold Coast)
Tue 10 March – Capri Theatre (Adelaide)
Wed 11 March – Village Crown Cinemas (Melbourne)
Wed 11 March – Christmas Island Cinema Club (Christmas Island)
Thu 12 March – Village Rivoli Cinemas (Melbourne)
Fri 13 March – Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS Sandy Bay Campus (Hobart)
Mon 16 March – Randwick Ritz, (Sydney)
Tue 17 & Wed 18 March – Hayden Orpheum (Sydney)
Thu 19 March – Tower Cinemas (Newcastle)
Fri 20 March – Avoca Beach Picture Theatre (Avoca Beach)
Sat 21 & Sun 22 March – National Film and Sound Archives (Canberra)
Tue 24 March – Uni Movies, Wollongong University (Wollongong)
Fri 27 March – The Palace Cinema (Byron Bay)
Wed 22 & Thu 23 April – The State Theatre Centre (Perth)
Wed 19 August – Deckchair Cinema (Darwin)
