In its eighth year, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, North America's premier cinemaquatic© event, explores the beauty, mystery and excitement of the seven seas from surface and shores to fathoms below. The San Francisco Ocean Film Festival features more than 50 films from international filmmakers, on topics ranging from surfing to sharks, ocean adventures to the environment, island cultures and more.
Presented by Aquarium of the Bay, The Bay Institute and NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries, the festival is organized as a series of programs that feature adrenaline-drenched and thought-provoking films as well as discussions with filmmakers and experts, creating a unique forum on the environmental, social and cultural importance of the world's marine resources.
Highlights for the 8th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival include:
• Opening Night Film Program, followed by a "Meet the Filmmakers Reception" at Aquarium of the Bay on March 9 -- view films including "Sex Under the Sea," and party with the sharks at Aquarium of the Bay, while enjoying hosted sips and nibbles.
• Surf film program on Friday, March 11, including the San Francisco showing of "The Westsiders."
• NEW: Family Programs at 10am on Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13: Enjoy discounted pricing of $5 for children and $10 for adults for this morning of family-focused films; following the film program, continue your underwater exploration next door, at Aquarium of the Bay
• NEW: Admission to each film program will also include admission to Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco's only nonprofit nature center.
Friday, March 11th at 7:00 PM will be one of the highlights of the festival with the showing of "The Westsiders," a film about a group of surfers from the Westside of Santa Cruz, California. In the film, they follow the lives of Santa Cruz surfers Daryl "Flea" Virostko, Shawn "Barney" Barron, and Jason "Ratboy" Collins in a story about Steamer Lane, and the fierce localism and surf scene of the time.
For a quick preview check out the Ocean Film Festival Trailer.
Where to Watch:
8th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival
When: March 9-13, 2011
Where: Theatre 39, on PIER 39.
Tickets and all info are available at www.oceanfilmfest.org





