This year the Ocean Film Festival World tour returns to New Zealand with a whole new range of inspiring and educating films. The two and a half hour program showcasing films from independent filmmakers worldwide, will screen a number of locally created films that celebrates South Pacific conservation efforts.

The tour is set to kick off in March and will tour the country including Tauranga on April 5 before heading to 13 other countries.

Festival founder, Jemima Robinson remarks, 'When we started the Ocean Film Festival World Tour we had big dreams, not only to inspire the world to explore and enjoy our oceans but further to protect and respect them. I am so pleased that this year we have a number of locally made films, sharing the beauty of this corner of the earth. New Zealand has a large ocean loving community and we love touring to NZ uniting together with our ocean loving community there”.

This year's carefully curated selection of short films is sure not to disappoint. Audiences will be taken on an international tour of spectacular stories that celebrate the beauty and power of the ocean and celebrate divers, surfers, oceanographers and marine life.

Jake Wilton. Photo: Supplied.

'Featuring a line up of adrenaline inducing yet heart touching films, witness the very best stories from the likes of an epic surf trip to the untouched waves of eastern Russia in winter, Italian free diving, or visually feast on breathtaking seascapes as a middle aged dad attempts to make a wing foiling world record, or venture to the Arctic with a team of explorers and scientists to discover why the earth is losing sea ice.

This year's lineup provides yet another year of show stopping films”, explains Jemima.

Other ocean loving countries such as Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Vanuatu, Australia, the US and the UK,will also host the renowned Ocean Film Festival World Tour as it screens over two hours of the most inspirational, educational and entertaining films.

The family friendly, all inclusive event begins in New Zealand in March. Visiting 7 cities around New Zealand the Ocean Film Festival World Tour will screen in Hamilton for the first time in 2023

See website for more information and to book tickets

Jake Wilton. Photo: Supplied.

Film details:
FILM 1: GONE WITH THE WING

Gone with the Wing is a story of Victorian local, Andrew Englisch as he sets out on a world first attempt to cross the treacherous Bass Strait on a Wing Foil.
Depicting a stunning, intimate, and raw portrait of Andrew's journey to raise himself out of the depths of depression and be the first person to cross one of the most dangerous stretches of
water on the planet. Despite only learning to wing foil 12 months earlier Andrew sets out on the water just before his 55th birthday.

Gone With the Wing is both an inspiring portrait of an ‘Old Bugger' who pushed himself to the limits mentally and physically and an epic adventure in one of the world's most rugged, wild and beautiful regions. The result is an inspiring triumph of the human spirit.

FILM 2: BROKEN BREATH

Italian free-diving champion, Mike Maric is at the top of his game when a fatal accident occurs that leaves his world shattered. On a journey to find himself again, he discovers the power and importance of breathing. From his encounter with mammals of the ocean to self discovery, this film follows the journey of how trauma can be an opportunity to find rebirth.

FILM 3: HYPNOTISE

Celebrating the old and the new, ‘Hypnotise' is set beneath the surface of the eastern Australian coastline demonstrating that new life can come be born out of the depths of tragedy and become something truly beautiful.

After 34 years serving in the Australian Navy, the ex-HMAS Brisbane was scuttled off the coast of Queensland in 2005. 17 years later, this epic 130 metre artificial reef is home to over 200 species of fish.

FILM 4: CORNERS OF THE EARTH: KAMCHATKA

Follow filmmakers Spencer Frost and Guy Williment and surfers Letty Mortensen and Fraser Dovell as they journey to Kamchatka in the far east of Russia in search of new waves along the frozen, unexplored coastline.

Bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk with more than 150 volcanoes (29 active) the Kamchatka Peninsula in Far Eastern Russia is as remote as it is unique.

After 2 years of planning the trip was almost over before it started. An hour before boarding their flight to Moscow, Russia invaded Ukraine.

At a time when the world was seeing the worst of human nature, these guys flew behind the iron curtain and found, to their surprise, the best of it. Mi-8 helicopters, skidoos, frozen campsites, and frozen bank accounts, thissurf trip quickly became far more than anyone could imagine.

FILM 5: IN SEARCH OF A FROZEN OCEAN

A team of 5 explorers and scientists venture to the Arctic Ocean, 500 miles from the North Pole to conduct research as to why the earth is losing sea ice and how this impacts the rest of the world. The route they take is one that was taken by native inuit tribes a thousand years ago and will allow them to access parts of ice that scientists have never before seen. Follow their journey as they determine how sea ice evolves and ultimately how our climate system is evolving. What they discover is extraordinary.

FILM 6: WHALE DREAMING from Southern Ocean Live

Warren Ngarrae Foster, a Djirringanj Elder of Yuin country shares how his people have connected to the whales and dolphins of the area for generations and consider them family. This is a visually stunning celebration of an ancient culture and an ancient breed of marine life.

FILM 7: CASEY THE OCTOPUS from Southern Ocean Live

Imagine you go for your usual morning walk along the beach, just like any other morning, except this morning is different because you discover something extraordinary. This is the story of a Rosebud woman who stumbles across a decision that will either give or take life. A remarkable reminder of the connections that can be formed between humans and animals.

TOUR DATES:
Auckland, SkyCity Theatre: Friday April 28
Christchurch, Phillip Carter Family Auditorium: Christchurch Art Gallery - Saturday April 1
Dunedin, Rialto Cinemas: Wednesday March 29
Nelson, The Suter Theatre: Saturday March 4
Tauranga, United Cinemas: Wednesday April 5
Wellington, Embassy Theatre: Wednesday March 22