Sea Studios Film Festival- June 6th

Sea Studios Foundation’s inaugural Film Festival in honor of World Ocean Day will be held Saturday, June 6, from 12 - 7 p.m. at the Cannery Row IMAX Theater in Monterey. This year the theme is "Think beyond Plastics" and the goal is to to inspire conservation of the ocean and encourage people reduce their use of plastics, the main source of marine debris. Sea Studios Foundation has partnered with a wide-range of Monterey Peninsula-based organizations to present three internationally acclaimed films focusing on the effects of plastics in the ocean. The films will be shown in the beautiful, state-of-the-art Cannery Row IMAX Theater via digital presentation. The Festival will also include a panel discussion and a Meet-The-Filmmakers reception. The Festival is supported in part by a generous donation of the Packard Foundation.
Featured films
The films to be screened are:
Noon - Marina of the Zabbaleen, an inspirational new film by Engi Wassef. click here for details
2:30 pm - Message in the Waves, a film by Rebecca Hoskins and the BBC Natural History Unit.

"Turning the Tide on Plastics" June 7th 3pm-5pm Cypress Lounge

Save Our Shores and Surfrider Foundation-Santa Cruz bring you “Turning the Tide on Plastic,” an afternoon with Anna Cummins and Dr. Marcus Eriksen of Algalita Marine Research Foundation. This event is part of JUNKride, the third phase of AMRF’s Message in a Bottle Project. Cummins and Eriksen will share stories of their research in the North Pacific Gyre and give local leaders samples of surface seawater from the Gyre that illustrate the urgency of the plastics issue. The event is from 3-5 pm on Sunday June 7th at Cypress Lounge, 120 Union Street in downtown Santa Cruz. It will include a multi-media presentation from Algalita, local issues updates and ways to get involved from Save Our Shores and Surfrider, a raffle and time to talk with Cummins and Eriksen. The event is FREE to the public and all ages can attend. Food and drink are available for purchase, but are not required to attend the event.

June 12th at the Rio Theater at 7:30pm.

This documentary film chronicles the rise and fall of Northern California's once great salmon and steelhead rivers through the eyes of famous anglers such as Russell Chatham and Lani Waller, the Department of Fish and Game, and distinguished fisheries professor Peter Moyle of UC Davis.  The rivers are looked at from the beginning of the 20th century to present day conditions highlighting the lessons we have learned along the way and what we must do if we are interested in not only saving these fish, but saving our relationship with nature.  You can see more about the film at the website www.riversofalostcoast.com.

SOS's Board of Directors member J. Nichols just published an inspiring OpEd on the Marine Debris and Plastics issue on the Huffington Post.  Take a few minutes to read his piece and get inspired to find ways to eliminate disposable plastics from your day-to-day life today! 

"There's a patch of ocean out there about as far as you can get from people on this small blue marble we call Earth, and it is slowly filling with tiny flecks of plastic.

First, they said it was a "large area" the size of Texas. Then it was two Texases. Then, a continent. They said the plastic fragments outnumbered plankton..."  Read more

Join us for a film showing of “FLOW: For Love of Water” (90 min), an award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st century: The World Water Crisis.

When: Thursday, May 7 at 7 pm
Where: Ted Adcock Community Center
535 Kelly Ave, Half Moon Bay
 
FLOW accreditation:
  * Official Selection, 2008 Sundance Film Festival
    * International Jury Prize, 2008 Mumbai International Film Festival
    * Best Documentary, 2008 Vail International Film Festival
    * Winner, Best Documentary United Nations Association Film Festival

The film will be followed by a panel discussion of Coastal Water Concerns by:
 
* Moderator: Kellyx Nelson, Executive Director, San Mateo County Resource Conservation District 

Save Our Shores is hosting a public lecture by Dr. Lisa Sloan on global climate change and its local implications.  The lecture will take place at the First Congregational Church at 900 High St. Santa Cruz from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

Sloan will be sharing graphic depictions of the local and statewide impacts of local climate change from a computer modeling system she has developed at UC Santa Cruz.  The changes the models describe will affect everything from the water supply to coastal fisheries to the demand for power during the summer. 

Trashy Oceans are the Pits! Come join us for a community discussion on marine debris.  We will be screening a locally produced film on marine debris and have discussions led by local specialists plus fun trivia and prizes.  October 22nd from 7pm-8:30pm at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Auditorium.

Thanks to all who attented the talk by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. You can download the presentation here (20.3mb ppt). Thanks again to everyone who came, together with SOS we can take on this huge issue of marine debris. Also visit algalita.org.

Thanks to all who attended our panel discussion on desalination. The public heard from an array of experts including Bill Kocher the Director of the Santa Cruz Water Department,  Shauna Potocky the Visitor Hall and Volunteer Services Manager for the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, Mike Rotkin a member of the Santa Cruz City Council and the City of Santa Cruz/Soquel Creek Water District Desalination Project Committee, Sarah Corbin the Central California Regional Manager for Surfrider Foundation, and Conner Everts the Executive Director of the Southern California Watershed Alliance and Co-Chair of the Desalination Response Group at Environment Now.

Follow up Questions:

World Ocean Day 2008 is coming up on June 8th. Whether you live along the coastline or inland from the sea, you are connected to the ocean in a number of ways.

As countless individuals do not live along the coast, it is sometimes hard for many to realize their personal connection to the ocean. But there are a myriad of reasons for why we should all celebrate the ocean. After all, the world’s ocean: generates most of the oxygen we breathe, helps to feed us, regulates our climate, cleans the water we drink, offers potential medicinal cures, and provides us with inspiration!