Thursday, March 8

6:00 p.m. – Opening Night Gala Reception – Aquarium of the Bay

Mingle with filmmakers and guests while enjoying scrumptuous appetizers and delicious wines, graciously donated by leading Bay Area restaurants and wineries such as Kermit Lynch Wines, Promenade, Schramsberg, Greens Restaurant, Fog Harbor, Waterbar, Swans Oyster Depot and Hog Island Oysters to name a few.

8:00 p.m. – Special Opening Night Screening

Gloop

(UK) Gaby Bastyra and Joe Churchman, 4 mins
Once upon a time, plastic was invented, and our planet may never recover. “Gloop” is a sinister fairy tale that tracks the meteoric rise of plastic from its discovery in Leo Baekeland’s gloomy laboratory a century ago. It is a cautionary tale about the price we must pay– and do pay–for opening this plastic Pandora’s box. —MJS

Ray: A Life Underwater

(UK) Amanda Bluglass*, 14 mins, North American Premiere
“Everybody wants gold and a mermaid,” declares Ray Ives, and he’s no exception. Journey with this roguish merman through more than a half-century of deep-sea diving for ancient treasures, salvage goods, shipwreck artifacts, and simply for the pleasure of total immersion. Perhaps you’ll discover that the true treasure is Ray himself. Artistically filmed, beautifully scored. —MJS

Sanctuary: the Last Stand for Sharks

(USA), Shawn Heinrichs*, John Weller*, 20 mins
Beautiful cinematography tells the story of multi-generational efforts in the Bahamas to help protect sharks while emphasizing their grace and importance in our ecosystems. Not the menacing creature they’ve been made out to be, sharks are key to their environment as proven by the Bahamian community in a model replicated elsewhere around the world. —AB

Where Journeys Meet

(USA), Corina Gamma*, 31 mins World Premiere
You can never have too many penguins. There’s no narration but there’s fascinating photography: Macaroni Penguins, Western Rockhoppers, kings, gentoos, Adelies, chinstraps, emperors are shown eating mating, parenting and marching. Add albatrosses and seals to complete all the major wildlife found on the islands of the Southern Ocean. Hunter Johnson’s music adds humor, elegance, and rhythmic energy. —KH