Alaska Ocean Festival- Speakers and Films

   Speakers / Films

    12:00 pm Opening Prayer/First People’s Acknowledgement (10 min)

Native Village of Eklutna President, Dorothy Cook, will kick off the day’s festivities with a traditional Dena’ina prayer, event blessing, and recollection of Cook Inlet’s vital role in the Dena’ina’s history.

    12: 15 pm Canyons Expedition (15 min) John Hocevar

A team of intrepid scientists survey previously unexplored canyons in the Bering Sea, including Zemchug Canyon, the largest canyon in the World.  Enjoy a front row seat as they discover new species and witness for the first time in human history this otherworldly realm.

    12:30 pm Jurassic Journey (9 min) John Dutton

Verging on extinction in the Pacific, giant leatherback turtles have long kept a secret that has eluded scientists.  With a need for knowledge to conserve them, US Scientists launch an ambitious research mission.  For the first time ever, they chart the leatherback’s unprecedented 7,000-mile migration across the Pacific to natal beaches in Indonesia.

    12:40 pm Papa Tortuga (19 min) Rob Wilson

One man on a rural beach in Mexico has dedicated his life to saving the Lora sea turtle. His efforts have not only played a key role in the restoration of this nearly extinct species, he has also educated thousands of children in the process.

    1:00 pm Protecting New Orleans, Saving Venice (12 min)  Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno

Post-Katrina, Mississippi Delta restoration expert, Dr. John Day, shows how to rebuild Louisiana’s coastal wetlands in order to safeguard New Orleans against future hurricanes.  He also draws parallels between NOLA and Venice, Italy and analyzes Venice’s struggle to save itself from devastating floods.

    1:15 pm Bering Sea - John Whittier

High energy film montage of life aboard a Bering Sea crab boat set to incredible music. You’ll never question the cost of crab again.

     1:30 pm Tidal Energy - Doug Johnson (Ocean Renewable Power Company) (20 min)

A brief presentation on the potential of tidal power to serve as an alternative to fossil fuels. Focus will be on Alaska and Cook Inlet specifically.

    2:00 pm Slow Boat to Somewhere (24 min) Jon Bowermaster

A Polynesian freighter — a floating K-Mart — makes a 3,000-mile monthly circuit among the planet's most remote atolls. Crews risk everything to bring life-giving supplies to Tahitians threatened by rising sea levels and Western ways.

    2:30 pm Salmon Before the City (30 min)

History of Dena’ina and their relationship to local creeks, salmon and watersheds in Anchorage. JimFall (Alaska Department of Fish and Game), Aaron Leggett (Dena’ina Cultural Historian), Debbie Call (Chair, Cultural & Historical Preservation).

    3:30 pm Children's reading: “Pete Puffin’s Wild Ride Cruising Alaska’s Currents”

Author and illustrator Libby Hatton will read from her brand new children's picture book. Discussion to follow.

    3:50 pm Sand Dancer (10 min) Valerie Reid

With no templates and the simplest of tools, Peter Donnelly creates a new and intricate design every week on New Zealand’s Brighton beach, lasting only ‘til high tide.  His connection to, and love of, the sand and the sea, are evident.  Donnelly is a Sand Dancer and magic maker.

    4:00 pm Titans of the Coral Sea (18 min) Jordan Plotsky

In the turquoise waters of Northern Papua New Guinea, there is a community of fishermen who are struggling to feed their families, and to preserve some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs.  These reefs are their ancient fishing grounds, and the survival of these communities depends on the health of the reefs and fish.  This is a film about stewardship, and a community taking charge of their future.

    4:20 pm Science of Big Waves (12 min) Chris Bauer

Ever wonder where waves come from?  It turns out the very biggest along the America’s west coast start right here in the Gulf of Alaska.  Shocking footage of the best surfers in the world taking on these frothy demons highlights the power that hides at the water’s surface.

    4:35 pm Texas Gold (21 min) Carolyn Scott

Carolyn Scott’s tribute to Texas hero, Diane Wilson, reveals one woman’s unconventional approach to protecting the waters surrounding her small Texas town.  She takes on corporate giants and passive town folk with equal vigor.

    5:00 pm Sharks: Stewards of the Reef (26 min) David McGuire

Examines escalating threats to shark populations including habitat destruction of reef ecosystems and overfishing that are causing Pacific Reef Shark populations to plummet.  The film investigates the most brutal assault threatening shark abundance: that of finning sharks for shark fin soup.

    5:25 pm City of Mermaids (16 min) Leah Wolchok

In the 1950s on Florida's west coast, when a young woman graduated from high school, she got married, went to college…or became a Weeki Wachee mermaid. And once a Weeki Wachee mermaid, always a Weeki Wachee mermaid, as a team of forty-something mermaids gracefully prove.

    5:40 pm Dubside (10 min) Brian Smith

An intimate look at “commando kayaker,” Dubside, featuring beautiful Greenland rolling and astonishing ropes gymnastics.

    5:55 pm Abridged (3 min) Arjun Rihan

History is filled with lyric examples of lovers separated by one body of water or another.  This comic, animated short looks at what happens when the usual solution is usually the problem.

    6:00 pm Around Tasmania (26 Min) John Bowermaster

Drawn to Tasmania by its mysterious history and wild and rugged shores, explorer Jon Bowermaster and team tae on the waters around Tasmania. The remote and little-known Australian island state proved to be a perfect coast line for exploring by kayak. More intriguing than the paddling were the stops along the 600-mile route marked by fishermen and historians, sailors and aboriginals.