I spent the first seven years of my life in the United Kingdom and still have some British terms and phrases in my vocabulary.
21.07.2023 - 11:31 / theguardian.com
This summer, many families had their first holiday abroad since the pandemic began. But as autumn sets in and the cost of living crisis deepens, that week or two by the sea may soon seem a distant memory. Perfect timing, then, for the Ocean Film festival’s UK tour. Nell Teasdale, the tour director, says audiences can “dive into a night of wild seafaring voyages and astounding marine life, without getting their feet wet”.
An offshoot of the Banff Mountain Film festival, the Ocean Film festival started in Australia in 2012 with the hope of inspiring people to enjoy, explore and respect the sea. This is the ninth year the festival has been touring the UK; over the next two and a half months, there are screenings at venues from Inverness in the Highlands to Truro in Cornwall. The tour will raise money for two charities that help to protect the oceans: the Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage.
Brendon Prince in Circumnavigate. Photograph: Will Reddaway
There is a programme of seven short films. Top of the bill is Circumnavigate (39 mins) by the director Will Reddaway. The film follows Brendon Prince, 48, from Devon, as he attempts to become the first person ever to paddleboard nearly 2,500 miles around mainland Britain. His is a gruelling 141-day journey, navigating tidal flows, offshore windfarms, shipping lanes and busy ports. Prince has close encounters with sharks, orcas and dolphins as he attempts to break five world records.
But it’s not all about getting into the record books. Prince’s main aim is to raise awareness of water safety. After witnessing three people drown off Mawgan Porth beach in Cornwall in 2014, he gave up his job as a PE teacher and set up the charity Above Water. “In this country, 600 to 700 people drown every year,” he says. “If my paddle strokes mean that one child listens and learns, then I can paddle for six hours. I can paddle for six days. I can paddle for 60 days.”
Mar, featuring surfer Alex Botelho
Next up is Mar (25 mins), an exhilarating – or terrifying – account of a big-wave surf competition on Portugal’s exposed north-west coast. We watch the surfer Alex Botelho face a life-or-death moment as he tackles “some of the most powerful and biggest ocean swells in the world”. Expect triumph and tragedy amid stunning big-wave riding sequences.
‘You lose a life and you restart another’: Benoit in Rebirth
Rebirth (6 mins) is also about surfing. Benoit, a surfer from the Basque country, lost an arm in a freak walking accident. He has to relearn how to ride the waves and find freedom on the water again, in an inspirational portrait of the adaptive surf community. “For me, it’s like a video game,” he says. “You lose a life and you restart another.”
Meanwhile, the
I spent the first seven years of my life in the United Kingdom and still have some British terms and phrases in my vocabulary.
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