8th Annual Festival to be Held March 9-13, 2011

The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival will run the eighth annual festival, March 9-13, 2011. Presented by Aquarium of the Bay and The Bay Institute and NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries, the Festival will again take place adjacent to the Aquarium’s entrance at Theatre 39 on PIER 39.

With a reputation as the largest and most diverse festival of its kind, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival features documentaries, animations, narratives and other traditional and experimental genre on topics including surfing, sharks, ocean adventures, the environment, marine wildlife, island culture and more.

“Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is proud to be a founding partner of this outstanding event, and we wholeheartedly support it!” says Maria Brown, Sanctuary Superintendent. “Our oceans are places of great power and majesty, but still they need our help. Through top quality films, and through lively discussions related to ocean issues, the festival helps us to realize that we are akin to the sea, and must embrace and protect it.”

In 2010, the festival expanded to a five-day event, featuring more than 70 films from an international array of filmmakers, viewed by nearly 4,000 festival goers, along with education programs that reached nearly 1,000 students. The festival is organized as a series of programs that feature attention-riveting films and in-depth discussions with filmmakers and content experts, creating a unique public forum on the environmental, social and cultural importance of the world’s marine resources.

“The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival’s inspiring, sometimes controversial and always conversation-starting lineup provides an ideal partnership for The Bay Institute and its affiliate Aquarium of the Bay,” says John Frawley, President and CEO of The Bay Institute. “We are pleased to partner with the Festival for a second year in a row, as it furthers our mission to inspire conservation of San Francisco Bay and its watershed.”

The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival will accept entries from filmmakers through December 1, 2010. Seeking timeless, quality films that entertain, educate or inspire, the festival places no restrictions on when the work was produced, its length or its genre. Entry information is available at www.oceanfilmfest.org.