Sunday, January 8, 2012

Beneath the Waves Film Festival: ocean films combine with important ocean ecology conference

As society turns to science for the facts and data upon which environmental decisions are made (or should be made), scientists and researchers are, more and more, realizing the power and influence of media in communicating to broad audiences. For over 40 years, the Benthic Ecology Meeting has brought together marine and ecology scientists from a variety of disciplines and areas of study. Sponsored by different U.S. southeastern colleges or universities over the years, this year it will be held in Norfolk, Virginia, March 21st through the 24th, and is sponsored by Old Dominion University. Accompanying the meeting for its third straight year will be the Beneath the Waves Film Festival.

The Beneath the Waves Film Festival presents marine-themed films ranging from white sharks to dedicated school teachers, all with a strong ocean narrative. This is not a "what I did on my vacation" film festival; the films shown here address important ocean issues. The audience is a healthy mix of scientists, students, and the general public.

While the festivals in the past were scheduled to coincide with the meeting, which lead to some competing programs, this year the festival has a special films-only evening taking place on March 23rd. Films will be shown on the IMAX screen of the Nauticus IMSX Theatre, which is a terrific venue for any ocean film.

The Beneath the Waves Film Festival, combined with the Benthic Ecology Meeting, is a great way to meet and talk with working scientists and dedicated students involved in ocean research - and it's a great way to see some informative new ocean films. The film festival has received hundreds of films for the past two prior festivals and the submission deadline for this year, February 24th, is close at hand. If you have a potential film of interest, click here to read about the submission requirements.

For more details, visit the Beneath the Waves Film Festival website. And learn more about the Benthic Ecology Meeting at the Old Dominion University website.

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