Award Winners Announced for 11th annual San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival

San Francisco, CA, March 3, 2014 – The San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival is pleased to announce the 10 award winners of its upcoming cinemaquatic celebration, taking place March 5-9, 2014 at the Bay Theater on PIER 39.

Winners of the 11th annual San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival are:
• Adventure Award: Defeating Oceans Seven
• Animation Award: Losing Nemo
• Coastal Culture Award: Haenyeo: Women of the Sea
• Conservation Award: Extinction Soup
• Director’s Award: Ain’t No Fish
• Environment Award: Sand Wars
• Golden Gate Award: Sunnydale Kids
• Short Film Award: The Whale Story
• Wildlife Award: How Nature Works: Barrier Island Foraging Strategies

“"The quality of the films continue to raise the bar and made for an incredibly difficult decision-making process for our film awards committee," said San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival Executive Director Ana Blanco. “We are honored to include nearly 50 gorgeous and inspiring independent films, each telling its own unique story, as we kick-off our 11th annual cinemaquatic celebration of the world's ocean."

“I honestly could not feel more grateful and honored to be given the Conservation Award. It's a very humbling feeling to have even been considered for the award let alone to win it. We are so lucky to have a platform like the San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival to share our film Extinction Soup. It is our hope that films like ours as well as all the other films in the SFOFF will help bring awareness to the ocean which it needs now more than ever,” said Phillip Waller, Director and Producer of Extinction Soup.

"While we can't fix all of the problems that exist in low income neighborhoods, by combining the talents and passion of a community organizer, a surf instructor, and myself, a filmmaker, The Sunnydale Kids provides one answer to the larger question of, 'what can I do with my talents?' by providing a day of play and ocean exploration, away from the troubles of everyday life for a group of at-risk children. I am honored to receive the Golden Gate Award at this year's San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival, and look forward to sharing it on the big screen with fellow filmmakers and ocean lovers," said Adam Warmington, Filmmaker and Photographer of The Sunnydale Kids.

"I shot this film while documenting the BP oil spill and was struck by the tremendous productivity and diversity found on Louisiana’s barrier islands and wanted to make a short film using the birds to reveal the hidden diversity to be found there. These shallow seas and edges are not only important to birds but serve as nurseries for many species of fish and other sea life that spend their adult lives inhabiting the open ocean," said Gerrit Vyn, conservation and wildlife photographer and recipient of the Wildlife Award for How Nature Works: Barrier Island Foraging Strategies.

Films submitted from 17 countries, on topics ranging from diving to surfing, sharks to ocean conservation, island cultures to the cultural importance of the world’s marine resources will be included in this year’s lineup, along with more than 25 World or U.S. premieres. Tickets and additional information is available at http://www.oceanfilmfest.org.
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