Thursday, September 27, 2012

Blue Ocean Film Festival in Monterey

I spent the day with my mom at the Blue Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Event in Monterey yesterday, a hybrid of a film festival, underwater film industry conference, and conservation conference. We watched films of varying quality on Humpback Whales, Manta Rays, Sea Otters, Giant Squid, diving sea birds, and Japan's tsunami. It was a treat to watch films in the Golden State Theatre, a 1926 movie palace with both moorish and spanish flourishes. My favorite discovery in the Golden State was an ornate crying window in the lobby for patrons to continue watching the film while keeping their crying baby out of the main theater.

Ocean Voyagers 3D was an absolute highlight, featuring a mother humpback with her baby in 3D. Meryl Streep narrates the film. Close-up shots of the mother's eye watching her baby are jarring, because, for some reason, it is just difficult to look a whale in the eye. It makes her seem human. Watch the trailer below.



Golden State Theatre
photo by Madeline Horn


Because my mom's whale watching business, Sanctuary Cruises, is working with OceanGate this week to take their submarine out to sea, we were able to enter the submarine they have on display!


Mom entering the hatch

Submarine control panels
The festival runs through sunday and takes place in downtown Monterey and in the Cannery Row area.    

Check here for more information.

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