“It’s like being pulled home.” “Like going to my personal church.” “If you’re not there, you feel like you’re really missing out.”

Meet the characters and creatures of the environment that gave us life: the ocean. Through nine short and medium-length films, share an evening of raw power, overflowing passion, and deep respect at the Ocean Film Festival World Tour.

“These films are made by surfers, divers, sailors, and swimmers who feel compelled to share their connection to the water with us,” says Festival director, Jemima Robinson.

“Through two hours of deep-water spear-fishing, big-wave riding, cross-ocean rowing, and sailing a backyard hobby yacht from England to Auckland, we realise that this love we have for the ocean – as Australians – is a global and fundamentally human emotion.”

Festival films are selected from a pool of submissions that come from across Australia and the world. From an electric exploration of Victoria’s coastal critters to the crest of an 80-foot Hawaiian monster, the Festival celebrates the depth and vast span of our ocean ecosystems, and the people who protect and pursue them.

And while eye-watering cinematography and graceful sea life abound, the films are not without their share of blood and chunder – as we follow two crazy Latvians on a second-hand ocean-crossing rowboat named ‘Linda’.

“As much as these are stories to inspire our desire to defend and connect with our oceans, they are also stories about fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, neighbours and mad school mates who are all chasing their dreams,” Robinson says.

“We know that most people leave this event wanting to quit work and hit the water,” she adds. “Which is why every year our audience numbers continue to swell.”

Proceeds from select Festival events support the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), the Project AWARE Foundation, and Sea Shepherd Australia.

If you need more help deciding, check out the Weekend Notes Review here…