Filmmaker Q&A: Kip Evans, "Isla Holbox / Whale Shark Island"

Don't miss the World Premiere of "Isla Holbox / Whale Shark Island," by Bay Area filmmaker Kip Evans, at the 7th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival.

The film will premiere during the shark program on Saturday, February 6 at 10am.
Check out the full festival lineup and purchase your ticket today!

What is your overall summary for the film?
Whale sharks are widely distributed in all tropical and warm temperate seas throughout the world. One particular island off the coast of Mexico boasts a large population of migratory whale sharks. Isla Holbox (pronounced "hole-bosh") was a well-kept secret until 6 years ago, when whale sharks were discovered right off its coast. Once a small fishing village with just 1600 year-round residents, Holbox has since become a popular summer tourist destination. Although whale sharks are generally considered solitary animals, they congregate in the waters surrounding Holbox to feed and mate during the summer months. The island is now one of the top places in the world to see and swim with these gentle giants. This film highlights some of the successes and concerns as Holbox transitions from a fishing community to an ecotourism destination.

What was your inspiration for creating the film?
I was inspired by the positive changes that have taken place on Holbox and by the concern that the pendulum could swing in the opposite direction if steps aren’t taken to limit the number of tourist operators in the area.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
The most challenging part was dealing with the logistics of getting to the whale sharks. Normally the sharks are within a 30 – 40 minute boat ride, but during our trip they were over 50 miles from shore. Once we were on site, it was relatively easy, but there were long trips to and from the island.

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?

Despite their large size, whale sharks are actually quite vulnerable. Not only are they still being fished commercially, they are being run over by commercial ships in the open sea. You can’t just project the whale sharks in small reserves like Holbox. They need protection throughout their migration range.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
Without a doubt swimming with the whale sharks was the most enjoyable part of creating this film. There were times when I would just sit in the water and watch theses giants swim by without even lifting my camera.

Who is your inspiration?
This film is part of a series we are creating to highlight “Hope Spots”, areas in the ocean that need our protection, or that can serve as ambassadors for hope. Dr. Sylvia Earle is the inspiration for this film.

How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
I’ve worked on ocean-related projects for more than 20 years. It was a natural evolution to transition into film because of my love for photography.

Why did you choose to submit your film to the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival?
The San Francisco Ocean Film festival is in my own backyard and the people here care a lot about ocean issues. I think it’s a great venue for making a difference.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?
I’m thrilled to be a part of this film festival and all the positive attention it brings to the environmental challenges we face today.

Filmmaker Q&A: Jefferson Gray, "Tragedies in the Mist"

Plunge into the inland ocean of Lake Huron and explore some of the 200 shipwrecks of the justly named Thunder Bay. Timber-shivering storms, towering waves, lashing winds, and treacherous fog have all taken their toll. This film chronicles 12,000 years of navigation, from birch bark canoes to modern ROV-equipped vessels, and the marine sanctuary’s work to preserve those still at sea. "Tragedies in the Mist" will be showing in Program 7 on Saturday, February 6th, 2010.

What is your overall summary for the film?
The film is a historical documentary on the history of Great Lakes shipping as told through the exploration of shipwrecks in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The sanctuary was created to preserve and protect the amazing collection of shipwrecks that span the entire time period that ships have sailed the Great Lakes. The film was created to take that story to the public.


What was your inspiration for creating the film?
My inspiration for creating the film was from the infectious enthusiasm for the wrecks and their stories that come from the archeologists, historians and educators that work at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
The most challenging part was to condense over 200 years of maritime history into a 26-minute film.

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?
The sense of value that historic shipwrecks have for us in terms of understanding a significant chapter in our history as a Nation.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
Working with the staff at Thunder Bay and the people of Alpena, MI.

Who (or what) is your inspiration?
Pat Labadie and Jeff Gray.

How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
I have been involved in ocean-focused films for over 30 years and the reason is because all of us have had a misconception that the oceans are infinite – so vast that we cannot hurt them. We have assumed that there was no limit to the resources and that anything in the sea was ours for the taking. As we all know now, none of that is true and we have to treat the oceans and all their resources, both historical and natural, as we treat our own bank accounts – with restraint, protection, and make a constant effort to maintain the resource.

Why did you choose to submit your film to the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival?
In order to share the incredible stories of these shipwrecks that rest in America’s “inland seas.”

Is this your first time participating in an ocean-focused film festival?
No

What was the most memorable moment in creating the film?
Recreating the scene of the drowning passengers on the night the steamer Pewabic sank.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?
Enjoy life because you never know when the ship you are sailing on is going down!

Filmmaker Q&A: Jonathan Hughes, "The Whale that Ate Jaws"

Jonathan Hughes has been making documentaries, particularly on natural history, for 8 years. His work has taken him to all parts of the globe and delivered some amazing experiences. Before film-making, he worked as a journalist and biology lecturer. He has a degree in Ecology from Leeds University, UK, and a Masters in Science Communication from Imperial College, London. He is currently taking a short break from film-making to write a popular science book. "The Whale that Ate Jaws" will be featured in Program 9 of the festival on Saturday, February 6, 2010.

What is your overall summary for the film?
The great white shark and the killer whale are the most formidable predators in the sea, animals so dangerous, they would never challenge each other; or so we thought… One morning, off the coast of San Francisco, a boatload of tourists witnessed the ultimate clash of the titans. The outcome left biologists mystified, but now with the help of a team of experts, this film re-examines this extraordinary incident, and reveals an astonishing new perspective on the relationship between the ocean’s two top predators.


What was your inspiration for creating the film?
The unique sighting of a killer whale attacking and eating a great white shark at the Farallons was a natural mystery waiting to be solved. Looking through the accounts of the event, it was clear that many people still had a host of big questions about what had gone on that day. We wanted to solve the case once and for all.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
We had to put together an accurate and entertaining reconstruction of that day back in 1997. Luckily, we had fantastic co-operation from many of the people that had witnessed the event, and we had two sources of original footage - a video shot by a whale-watching tourist above the water, and the scientist’s underwater polecam footage of the killer whales eating the shark. Together with a commissioned computer animation of the attack, the great work of our cameraman Simon Niblett, and a good bit of luck with the weather, this proved to be enough to satisfy the brief. In the film we used the reconstruction[of the event] in a non-linear way - starting with the point of view of the key Farallon scientist Peter Pyle, then going back in time to explore the events that led up to the attack. We felt this best captured the drama that all involved must have felt on that day.

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?
Several different things: the excitement of a natural drama that took place just offshore of one of the biggest cities in the US, an admiration for both the species involved (we are only now discovering how remarkable they really are), and the exhilaration of conducting a scientific investigation in, what is essentially, a new territory.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
I was brought up next to the sea, but I have never spent so many consecutive days on boats! It was wonderful to get an opportunity to take out so many different watercrafts in so many different locations. And of course, when you are working on a marine natural history film you inevitably cross paths with the luckiest people on Earth - the guys that set sail every day to work on the ocean. It's a lifestyle that either makes characters or attracts characters because everyone we met was great fun to be with.

Who (or what) is your inspiration?
My favorite documentary-makers are people like Mark Lewis and Errol Morris, but this film was commissioned to fit into a regular cable schedule - it couldn't be "authored". The trick was to make it "popular", for which you could supplant "predictable", yet also keep it engaging, which kind of means "unpredictable". There are a number of people that I know that manage to walk this tightrope: Jo Scofield, Mark Brownlow, and Brian Leith. I think they're some of the best people working in mainstream natural history television today.

How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
Our little section at Tigress is jokingly dubbed the "Natural Mystery Unit", we've been making films about odd occurrences in nature for several years now. It's no accident that many of these involve the marine world, we are still so ignorant of what really goes on in the ocean, and the animals that live out there are endlessly fascinating because they are, to some degree, still alien to us.

Why did you choose to submit your film to the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival?
The natural event that this film investigates is now part of Bay Area lore; two marine leviathans involved in a death match within sight of Mt Tamalpais! … Springing from a local event, it establishes a new perspective on life in the oceans - I can't think of a better choice for your festival!

Is this your first time participating in an ocean-focused film festival?
Yes, I haven't made a film about marine life before, though I can't think why!

What was the most memorable moment in creating the film?
We were lucky throughout the filming, but our fortune peaked when we arrived at Monterey to interview Alisa Schulmann-Janiger. She had just spent the day with killer whales, and had witnessed them attacking and killing a grey whale calf. In all her years as an orca expert, she'd never seen this. It meant that she knew exactly where the pod would be at dawn - because it takes all night to eat a grey whale! Sure enough, we raced straight to them the next day, and filmed alongside the satiated and playful pod for several hours. That was the first time I'd seen killer whales and it took my breath away.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?
I film around the world, and I just wanted to say that California is still the best place for on-screen characters! Everyone we met on our filming trip was gold-dust on screen. Thanks to all who took part.

Filmmaker Q&A: Julia Szucs & Steve Smith, "Arctic Cliffhangers"

Arctic Cliffhangers can be viewed on Saturday, February 6 at 4pm in the 7th annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival. If you're interested in seeing the film, click here to buy tickets.

What is your overall summary for the film?
Climate change is affecting sea ice cover in Arctic waters, influencing marine life and altering the traditional lifestyles of northern peoples. For over thirty years, scientists have been examining how environmental changes are affecting Arctic Seabirds. By examining the lives of these hardy creatures of the northern seas, Arctic Cliffhangers provides an in-depth understanding of the relationships between reduced sea ice cover and the health of the Arctic ecosystem.

Can you tell us a bit about the filmmakers?
Along with being a filmmaker, Co-Director/Co-Producer, Steve Smith is also a wildlife biologist. He has been working with seabird specialists for decades, both in Antarctica and Canadaʼs Arctic. He began learning about seabird ecology in the early 1980s, when he was hired by Dr. Tony Gaston (who is the inspiration for this film) to conduct field studies in the High Arctic. In recent years, it has become evident through Dr. Gastonʼs long-term dataset of information on seabirds that global climate change is impacting the Arctic marine ecosystem. This important discovery was the original inspiration for making the film.

Co-Director/Co-Producer Julia Szucs began her work in environmental education and leadership training in the late 1980ʼs. In recent years she has lead numerous multi-week sea kayak expeditions along the Pacific Coast between Baja, California and Alaska, as well as in Canadaʼs High Arctic. When she heard that there was strong scientific evidence about the impacts of climate change on Arctic Seabirds, she was inspired to get involved with the film project, to communicate the real risks of altered ecological balance as a result of climate change.


Can you share more about your inspiration, Dr. Tony Gaston?
He is featured in the film at the High Arctic colony of Prince Leopold Island, and it was Tony who inspired and encouraged us to take on the project. Tony has spent 35 years of his life studying Arctic seabirds and he is one of the worldʼs leading seabird scientists. His dedication to fieldwork and to understanding the ecology of the Arctic is inspirational, as well as the hard work he has put into managing and coordinating several multi-decade research projects around the Arctic.

What do you want to impart on your filmʼs viewers?
Probably the most important idea of the film is that no matter how far away we live from the Arctic, we all play a part in influencing its future. Thereʼs a ripple effect to all of our decisions that we often arenʼt aware of, whether itʼs purchasing items with flame retardants that ultimately end up in the eggs of Arctic seabirds, or itʼs turning the ignition key that boosts the atmosphereʼs carbon dioxide levels, creating a loss of polar sea ice habitat. We are all connected - thatʼs what this film reminds us of - and we all need to be cognizant of our actions and how they affect even the most remote places of our undeniably finite planet.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
The filming! We were so fortunate to be invited to join scientists and to follow Inuit to some of the most spectacular seabird colonies of the Canadian Arctic. And joining the Newfoundlanders out on the high seas in a 20 foot skiff in the middle of February was a gripping adventure!

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
While we had hoped to do an educational film that was told only through the words of scientists and seabird hunters, once in the editing room we realized how difficult it would be to piece together all of ʻtalking headsʼ and all of the technical information into a cohesive and compelling story. We had to find a way to create a story that would be told in a manner that would not intimidate non-technical audiences.

Since Steve had a long history of Arctic exploration and study that included several years of working with seabird biologists, we felt that he was the most passionate narrator for the story. And once we made that decision, the idea of making a story about Steve going on a ʻfield tripʼ across the Arctic came together pretty easily... we could craft the questions that we wanted to answer as well as Steveʼs observations in ways that a general audience would be able to follow. And Steveʼs first-person adventure makes the learning aspect of the film easier to digest.

What was the most memorable moment in creating the film?
At one of the colonies, Steve was doing double-duty as filmmaker and field researcher. He was helping to capture birds in order to collect electronic recording devices that hadbeen attached to their legs, and he realized that the bird he was holding was the same bird that he had once banded in 1985! This bird (featured in the film) had to be at least 30 years old! And of the millions (literally) of seabirds that we were around during the production, it was quite amazing to be holding the very same bird that he had worked on
23 years previously.


How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
Steve Smith and I (Julia Szucs) both have a huge passion for the ocean. We are both certified sea kayak expedition guides and ocean naturalists we have spent many seasons of our lives traveling and living on different oceans and coastal areas in various areas of the planet. So making films about the ocean is a natural outlet for sharing our passion and concern for the ocean.

Why did you choose to submit your film to the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival?
We wanted to share our film with those who have a passion for the ocean and marine related environmental issues and we feel that this audience will be willing to share what they have learned with a general public in a geographic location that is far from the filmʼs location in the Canadian Arctic. It is also exciting for us to be able take part in the festival and be inspired by other ocean filmmakers. We look forward to meeting other filmmakers; sharing ideas, concerns, victories and challenges of this type of documentary filmmaking.

Filmmaker Q&A: Maria Jose Calderon, "The Edge of the Sea"

Maria Jose Calderon's Film Festival debut will be at the 7th annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival. Her film, "The Edge of the Sea," will be screened during the 7pm program on Saturday, February 6, 2010.

What is your summary for "The Edge of the Sea"?
The Edge of the Sea explores the issue of privatization of public areas and the social and environmental consequences of excessive coastal development that is quickly changing the character of Puerto Rico’s beaches.

The film tells the story of Edwin ‘Pauco’ Font, a 61-year old third generation fisherman from Rincón, a small surfing town on the West coast of Puerto Rico. Since the late 1960’s, small fishing villages like Rincón have undergone expansive costal development, driven by tourism and the growing demand for beachfront property. The film follows Pauco in his battle against a local developer planning to build a mega condo project on one of Rincón’s most popular public beaches.

Throughout the film, we come to understand Pauco’s motivation to fight the development. Since the explosion of tourism, he and other residents of Rincón have seen the white sand beaches of their hometown lose between 1 and 3 meters of volume a year due to erosion. Interviews with Marine Science experts explain that coastal development is one of the primary factors causing beaches in Rincón to disappear. Coastal development is not only worsening the problem of erosion but is also limiting beach access.

In 2001, Pauco sued the Puerto Rican Planning Board for granting the developers fraudulent permits to build the project. After an 8-year battle in court, the fishermen were able to prove that the “Reina del Mar” project would be in public domain lands. The ruling created an unprecedented victory and a source of inspiration for hundreds of communities around the island that are dealing with similar issues, in what seems to be an out of control quest to develop Puerto Rico’s coastline.

What was your inspiration for creating the film?
I was inspired by Pauco´s determination to fight for what he considered a worthy cause. When he realized that excessive coastal development was causing serious environmental problems in his community, and that it was also violating people´s right to enjoy their natural resources, he began a fight that he didn´t abandoned until he win it, and he did.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
The most challenging part of making"The Edge of The Sea"was to win the trust of developers in Puerto Rico, without their collaboration the film wouldn´t be as powerful. It was really important for me to make a film that would be accurate, balanced and ethical, and for that to happened I needed to have both sides of the issue.

Another challenging aspect of making this film, was to explain in a visual and compelling way very complex events such as coastal erosion and what causes it.

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?
I want viewers to be able to see that the same or similar issues as the ones covered in the film are also going on in their own communities and that it´s up to regular citizens to defend beach access for all and to demand stricter development regulations that don´t interfere with sensitive ecosystems.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
The most enjoyable part of making this particular film was to be able to meet wonderful people like Pauco and astonishgly beautiful places like Rincon.

What is your inspiration?
I´m inspired by nature to make films that educate and inspire others to protect our planet and all beings that live in it. When people are aware of the importance of ecosystems that surround them, there are better chances that those people will care and engage in the protection of their natural environments.

How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
At the end of my first year at the UC Berkeley graduate school of journalism, I had the opportunity to do an internship with the Surfrider Foundation in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Part of my job there was to make a half an hour film about the efforts of a community to protect an endangered coastal area. The film is titled, Salva Tres Palmas tells the story of the environmental victory that gave life to the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve, the first marine reserve on the main island of Puerto Rico.

While making Salva Tres Palmas, I realized that I from now on I was going to make films about the environment.

Why did you choose to submit your film to the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival? This is the first time that I submit a film to the festival and I´m very pleased to had been accepted to participate with "The Edge of The Sea." The festival is a great venue and the perfect place to get my film exposed to a community of conscious people that love the ocean and that might find inspiration to get involved in similar fights in their own communities.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?
After making "The Edge of The Sea" I decided to travel across the Américas (From California to Chile) documenting the efforts of community based organizations that are fighting to protect the environment and live in a more sustainable way. My husband and I left California in November of 2010 and right now are in Central America. We hope to be able to share some of our work soon through our website: http://www.biodieseldiaries.com/

The full lineup of more than 50 films included in the 7th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival is available now.

Check it out and purchase your tickets today!
7th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival

When: February 3-7, 2010

Where: Theatre 39The Embarcadero and Beach Street, San Francisco

Info: http://www.oceanfilmfest.org/

Filmmaker Q&A: Caroline Brett, "In Awe of the Shark"

What is your overall summary for the film?
“In Awe of the Shark” is a passionate plea from marine scientists all over the world to rethink the shark. Sharks are not vicious man hunters. They are sensitive, inquisitive, even playful and intelligent. Sharks have cruised the seas since the time of the dinosaurs. The oceans are delicately balanced. Take out sharks and it will tip the scales. The consequences could be devastating.

What was your inspiration for creating the film?
We had a unique opportunity to interview a collection of shark scientists at a shark symposium and wanted to give the scientists a chance to "speak out" for sharks.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
What was most challenging was, the blue screen work, keying in the background and doing special effects on a low budget.

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?
We hope to show that there are many people who love sharks and care deeply about the devastating slaughter of so many species.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
Well, filming the scientists and having time to talk to them was special. Getting the green screen backgrounds to work was fun as well.

Who (or what) is your inspiration?
The natural world is my inspiration.


How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
Save Our Seas is a marine foundation and films enhance its activities.

Why did you choose to submit your film to the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival?
We attended the festival last year and were impressed.

Is this your first time participating in an ocean-focused film festival?
No - see above.

Filmmaker Q&A: Morgan Kirkham, "Herring Gut Learning Center, Alternative Education in Action"

Morgan Kirkham is a freelance photographer and filmmaker hailing from the great state of Maine. After picking up his first video camera in the summer of 2008, Morgan has produced over 30 online multimedia narrative productions using photography, video and audio and is currently working on a film with David Conover of Compass Light Productions about the new wind turbines built last summer on his home island of Vinalhaven, ME.

His film "Herring Gut Learning Center, Alternative Education in Action" was filmed last spring and follows a group of students involved in a dynamic, marine-based alternative educational program located in the fishing village of Port Clyde, ME. Traditionally ignored, separated from their peers or placed in the back of the classroom, these alternative education track middle school students are given a second chance through this program that promotes real-life application of knowledge through the raising and selling of farm-ready seed oysters grown by the students themselves.

Morgan actually lived in San Francisco for the first half of 1999 while taking a semester off from Vassar College and now visits his brother and family in Berkeley on a regular basis.


What is your overall summary for the film?
A non-profit marine education facility provides an alternative, environmentally sensible learning opportunity for students struggling in a traditional classroom.

What was your inspiration for creating the film?
Once I saw these students interacting with each other in the classroom, I knew this was a great story and that all I had to do was not screw it up.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
Audio was the biggest challenge for sure -- lots of whirring pumps and fans due to the nature of oyster farming.

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?
I hope this film helps people realize the great need our country has for serious, fundamental and dynamic change to the way we educate our children.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
The most enjoyable part of creating this film was watching the students reaction to the final product. They loved it, and for that I am most grateful.

Who (or what) is your inspiration?
The power narrative filmmaking has to engage people.

How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
I began creating films about where I live because I think it is a special place. This place is the coast of Maine so the ocean is there, but up to this point it has been more of an implicit, rather than explicit, presence in my filmmaking. Also, I don't have any underwater housing(s) for my cameras yet.

Why did you choose to submit your film to the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival?
I submitted this film to your festival because I want to get the story of “Herring Gut Learning Center” to a wider audience.

Is this your first time participating in an ocean-focused film festival?
Yes

What was the most memorable moment in creating the film?
The first day I came to Herring Gut, sans camera, to just get a sense of what the place was about. The students were in a classroom planning out their day and I just couldn't believe that kids of any age, let alone alternative education track 6th, 7th and 8th graders, were interacting with such passion, respect, and maturity.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?
I like eggs benedict a lot.

Filmmaker Q&A: Andy Brandy Casagrande IV, "Great White Shark Song"

The "Great White Shark Song" will be included in the Shark program of the 7th annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, on Saturday, February 6 at 10am.

What is your overall summary for the film?
The "Great White Shark Song" is a wildlife music video, in honor of the ocean's ultimate apex predator - the Great White Shark! The song is meant to inspire protection, conservation and expand research efforts surrounding Great White Sharks and all of the oceans fragile creatures. The song was written for adults and children alike and strives to give the Great White Sharks a voice for their survival in an increasingly dangerous world.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
Playing the guitar underwater with Great White Sharks swimming around me and not messing up the chords or the lyrics!

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?
"IF I WAS A GREAT WHITE SHARK - I WOULDN'T BITE YOU"

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
Watching the reaction of the Great White Sharks while playing the guitar for them underwater and uncaged - priceless!

Who (or what) is your inspiration?
National Geographic Television and Great White Sharks.

What was the most memorable moment in creating the film?
When my "safety diver" decided that it was not safe to get outside of the cage and I decided to dive without him.

What message would you like to share with Festival goers?

"BE NICE TO STRANGERS & BE NICE TO SHARKS"

The full lineup for the 7th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival is available now. Check it out and purchase your tickets today!

7th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival
When: February 3-7, 2010
Where: Theatre 39The Embarcadero and Beach Street, San Francisco
Info: http://www.oceanfilmfest.org/

Filmmaker Q&A: Jennifer Galvin, "Free Swim"

What is your overall summary for "Free Swim"?
Free Swim is an award winning documentary film about the paradox of coastal people not knowing how to swim. Taking place on Eleuthera, an island of The Bahamas, we follow a group of kids as they overcome their fears, gain confidence and reconnect with their environment by learning to swim in open waters. With fresh memories of a friend drowning and the conflicts of growing tourism, for these kids it’s not just about floating, but gaining new skills for their future.

What was your inspiration for creating the film?
The idea for Free Swim grew out of personal adventures and public health work with coastal populations around the world. I was increasingly aware that many people, young and old, who
live surrounded by water, do not know how to swim. As a doctor of environmental health and a filmmaker I saw swimming as a node for environmental, economic and social determinants of health, and the implications of this dynamic as a connector for two troubling issues:

1 - Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death for children globally and is underreported. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 60% of children of color are unable to swim and they drown at disproportionate rates - three times the rate of Caucasian children.

2 - Modern living has created a disconnect between people and nature, and the gap grows, especially for youth. Teachers, parents and physicians recognize its impact on health, achievement and creativity of our future decision-makers.

I wanted to explore the interconnection of these two critical concerns with a story that merged the harms of the past with hopes for the future. Once I learned that The Bahamas had the 4th highest drowning rate per capita in the world and that Swim to Empower (http://www.swimtoempower.org/) was giving lessons on Eleuthera, the location for what would become Free Swim was clear.

What was the most challenging part of creating the film?
Documentary filmmaking is all about real people, in real places, in real time. There’s a high level of sensitive professionalism that is required to gain the trust of the story and oftentimes the story takes unexpected paths. I try to let the story speak for itself and to allow the characters to use my camera as a vessel for their voices and actions.

Technically, Free Swim was challenging because I was a one-woman crew and my equipment was constantly exposed to the hot sun, sand, saltwater and bumpy dirt roads. Capturing sound during the swimming lessons was a little tricky at times. Free Swim was envisioned from the beginning as having a more poetic, episodic style, which is not often seen in today’s character-driven documentary market. Free Swim’s talented editor, Diana Logreira, had worked with Kiarostami (one of my filmmaking heroes) so she easily adapted to the idea of a different creative process and was very open to telling Free Swim in a non-linear fashion.

What do you want to impart on your film’s viewers?
I strive to create a dialogue between the audience and moving image, music and voice because environmental and public health challenges need people to feel connected to the problems – and to the solutions. Free Swim is an empowering film that combines the individual human experience of learning to swim with larger societal topics, exploring complicated socio-economic and environmental challenges with which communities’ worldwide struggle. These include the influences on community function by the media, drowning, tourism, education and ecological health – to name just a few. While the documentary’s emotional trajectory unfolds in a new island destination for many audience members, the process of learning to swim allows viewers to tap into personal fears and have an experience with the ocean. For young and old, it is a story about access to untapped potential for achievement and to a renewed opportunity for the future of our own health, and of the health of the planet.

What was the most enjoyable part of creating the film?
The most enjoyable parts of creating Free Swim were living on Eleuthera, making life-long friends and shining a light on a cause – and of course, getting to spend a lot of time in the ocean.

How or why did you begin creating ocean-focused films?
I grew up on Long Island, NY, and my heritage has always been deeply rooted in the ocean. Having spent time in the academic environment and in the non-profit world, I saw the need for scientists like me to use their backgrounds in a more creative and communicative way. Merging my skills and sensibilities to make movies seemed to be a natural fit and reelblue, LLC (http://www.reelblue.net/) was founded in 2006 with my friend and colleague Sachi Cunningham.
What was the most memorable moment in creating the film?
There are really so many memories, especially now that it is being shared with audiences
around the world. While filming it was incredible to witness such a consistent, human
response when people of any age learned to float. I’ll never forget those faces.

Is there anything else that you would like to share?
The film’s companion book – We, Sea – is available for sale and starting in
early 2010, individuals, organizations and schools will be able to host their own screenings
of Free Swim. Visit us at http://www.reelgreen.net/ and http://www.freeswimmovie.com/ to learn more!

Don't miss "Free Swim," at the 7th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival

When: February 3-7, 2010

Where: Theatre 39The Embarcadero and Beach Street, San Francisco

Info: www.oceanfilmfest.org