Turquoise bay, Roatan is to host an underwater film festival from 9 to 16 April 2016. The event will feature seminars, an on-site contest and a gala evening. It will be hosted by cinematographer Jonathan Bird and during the week, participants will have the opportunity to dive, shoot and compete in video contests. The Best in Show film will receive the Stan Waterman Legacy award.

PRESS RELEASE

OVER $10 000 UP FOR GRABS FOR THE 1ST EDITION OF THE TURQUOISE BAY INTERNATIONAL UNDERWATER FILM FESTIVAL

ROATAN, October 13, 2015 – Roatan’s Turquoise Bay Dive & Beach Resort is proud to host the first edition of the International Underwater Film Festival. While a new and young film festival, the inaugural edition already promises top names in the underwater filmmaking industry.

Held April 9-16, 2016, the event will feature seminars, an on-site competition, an International Film competition and a Gala Night. The Gala event will be held on April 15, 2016 at the Beach Club San Simon, where winners will be announced.

Founders of the event, Michel Labrecque and Julie Ouimet of N2Pix and Jesus Alberto Reyes, COO and Commercial Director of Turquoise Bay Dive & Beach Resort, are excited to announce that over $10 000 in prizes will be awarded to winners and participants of the event.

The International competition is open to filmmakers from around the world. The Best in Show will receive the Stan Waterman Legacy Award and prizes will also be awarded to 2nd and 3rd place films. Organizers of the event are happy to pay tribute to Mr. Waterman, a pioneer in underwater filmmaking who will be a member of the panel of judges. The submission deadline for short films of 20 minutes or less is March 1, 2016.

The weeklong event will be hosted by Jonathan Bird, Emmy award-winning cinematographer and host of Jonathan Bird’s Blue World. During this week, participants will dive, attend seminars and compete in short film and video snapshot categories. Prizes will be awarded in each.

Both the on-site and international competitions are open to videographers of all levels. Several industry sponsors have already confirmed their support for this inaugural edition of the Film Festival. Organizers are thankful to Aquatica/Amphibico, Epic Diving, Ocean Quest Resort and PADI who have come onboard as Premiere and Agency Sponsors of the Festival.

Full details of the event and how to participate are available on the Festival’s web site.

About Turquoise Bay International Underwater Film Festival:

Hosted by the Turquoise Bay Dive & Beach Resort, the Turquoise Bay International Underwater Film Festival is a two-part event comprised of an International film competition and a weeklong event held in Roatan, with awards for best short film and category video snapshots filmed onsite during the week.

About Jonathan Bird:

Jonathan Bird is an Emmy award-winning cinematographer specializing in underwater production. His most recent film, Space School, about underwater astronaut training, is the world’s first digitally filmed live-action fulldome film. He is the host and producer of Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, an educational family-friendly underwater adventure series airing on public television in the USA since 2008. It can also be seen on YouTube or www.BlueworldTV.com. This series has won 8 Emmy Awards and its fourth season was released in early 2014. As both the director of photography and the host of this series, Jonathan shares his enthusiastic love of the ocean with audiences as he travels the world exploring marine mysteries and learning about the wonders of nature. He has shot and produced over 30 films for broadcast and education. His films have appeared all over the world, on networks such as National Geographic Channel, PBS, ABC, USA Network, Discovery and even the SciFi Channel. Jonathan is the president and founder of Oceanic Research Group, Inc., a non-profit environmental organization founded in 1990 to promote conservation of the world’s oceans.