International Ocean Film Festival

An evening of film and interactive art invites guests to explore the intersection of creativity, community and ocean conservation. Part of the 2025 World Ocean Celebration Miami, the International Ocean Film Festival takes place Saturday, June 7.

Set against the backdrop of the bay at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science, the program begins at 5:00 p.m. with a waterside cocktail reception and an immersive participatory performance led by artist Lauren Shapiro. Following the reception and performance, attendees will move into the auditorium for a curated screening of short films from the San Francisco-based festival. Each film offers a unique perspective on ocean-related themes, from personal stories and ecological challenges to cultural traditions and scientific exploration.

Following the screening, a Q&A session with a guest scientist begins at 7:30 p.m., offering further reflection on the topics presented in the films and their real-world implications.

This year’s film lineup includes:

• 5 Degrees, 6 Minutes, 7AM (Germany, 4 min)
  A glimpse into the cold-water swimming culture of Kiel, Germany, where swimmers gather in freezing temperatures to connect with nature and one another.

• The Mother of Diamonds – Kimberlite (Austria, 6 min)
  Beneath the Arctic ice of Greenland, a free diver searches for rare igneous rock formations while revealing the stark beauty of frozen waterscapes.

• Peixinho (Little Fish) (UK, 8 min)
  A young boy in a Mozambican fishing village works to revive his community’s relationship with the ocean in a place where few know how to swim.

• Roots (USA, 12 min)
  In the Dominican Republic, an ecologist combines the country’s love of baseball with mangrove restoration through the initiative “Play for the Mangroves.”

• Casa Congo – Las Tejedoras (Italy, 21 min)
  In Nicaragua, women transform discarded plastic bags into handcrafted art, leading local conservation efforts while navigating daily life and family responsibilities.

• Footprints on Katmai (USA, 22 min)
  A filmmaker retraces his grandmother’s journey through Alaska’s Katmai region, trading artistic landscapes for sketches of plastic debris found along the coast.

This event blends art, science and storytelling to deepen public understanding of marine environments and the communities that depend on them.