The Ocean Film Festival, Australia is on its way! Hitting a record number of venues across Australia the festival will showcase some of the world's most inspiring and moving ocean short films. Project AWARE caught up with festival organiser, Jemima Robinson to learn a little more about the festival and what the audience can expect in 2015. 

AWARE: The Ocean Film Festival has been running in Australia for 3 years now. How did you get involved? 

I’ve been touring the Banff Mountain Film Festival around Australia for the past 9 years, which showcases the world’s best adventure sport films. When we asked our audience what kind of films they would like to see we often received responses of diving and surfing; which is hardly surprising because of where we live. However being a “mountain” film festival these films were never on offer so we started looking for a similar style of festival that focused on the ocean. 

AWARE: What inspired you to start the Ocean Film Festival in Australia?

After searching the globe we found a number of ocean conservation film festivals and a few US based local Ocean Film Festivals, but the program was always localised and lacked that inspirational element we were looking for. So we took the plunge and spent a full year scouring the globe to source the most inspirational two and a half hours of films that we felt Australian audiences would engage with and enjoy. And thus the Ocean Film Festival Australia was born.

AWARE: How does this year’s festival differ from previous years? 

We have learnt a LOT in the past two years and audience feedback has been an incredible help.  But the driving force of the program is always the film makers. Because we show mostly independent self funded films, the one thing that is guaranteed is that each year you are going to get something different. Compared to the 2014 program, this year we have a greater diversity in the ocean topics including, diving, sailing, surfing, free driving and ocean archeology. While the topics vary from year to year our goal each year remains the same: that the audience leaves the theatre feeling inspired to get salty more often and to love and protect our oceans.

AWARE: What treats do you have in store for the audience this year?

Firstly the Ocean Film Festival is a visual feast. There is amazing footage from above and below the ocean. Majestic and wonderful ocean creatures and the stories of people who love the ocean. This years films will take you from surfing the arctic waves of Norway to the depths of the ocean off Hawaii. Big wave surfing, a Viking boat builder, cave diving in Mexico and swimming with sharks off the coast of southern Africa. It's a diverse program that has something for every type of ocean lover.

AWARE: You’ve chosen to donate a $1 from ticket sales to ocean conservation orgs including Project AWARE. Why? 

Our vision is to show films that inspire our audience to love the ocean, because people will naturally want to protect what they love. We wanted to expose the audiences to some of the threats to the health of the ocean but know that these problems aren’t insurmountable and that some of the money they spent on the night is being used to protect and preserve this wonderful thing that brings us all so much joy. We also wanted to highlight the incredible work and achievements of organisations such as Project AWARE and perhaps motivate people to get involved themselves.

AWARE: Last year, the Ocean Film Festival went international with screenings in the United Kingdom – how did that make you feel?

It was pretty exciting to know that people on the other side of the world were enjoying the program as much as our Aussie audiences. The UK is an island and despite the weather there are an enormous number of ocean lovers.  We received so much positive feedback from the UK we were delighted. A highlight of the UK tour though was that the main character of this years longest film saw the Ocean Film Festival in the UK and was inspired to make a film on his own life and connection with the ocean. We are really glad he did because it is an awesome film that I know audiences are going to love.

You can get your hands on Ocean Film Festival tickets by visiting www.oceanfilmfestivalaustralia.com.au. Screenings are across Australia and begin in March.