First Alaska Ocean Film Festival

Submitted by Doug Schneider
Phone: 907-474-7449
03/01/05

The Alaska Oceans Program, Alaska Center for the Environment, and the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival will kick off the first Alaska Ocean Film Festival in Anchorage, March 10.

The Alaska festival will feature a selection of films from the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival while also incorporating Alaska based films highlighting the wonders of the North Pacific.

The keynote film is Ocean Fury: Tsunamis in Alaska, produced by UAF Alaska Sea Grant communications manager Kurt Byers. The 25-minute video explains the cause of the 1964 Alaska tsunamis and highlights research aimed at preparing Alaska coastal communities for the next one.

The video begins with interviews of people in Seward, Kodiak and Valdez who describe in chilling detail what they saw when the black waves attacked their towns 40 years ago, killing more than 100 individuals. It also describes how the tsunami warning system operates in Alaska and explains how people should react when an earthquake occurs.

For more information contact Doug Schneider, fndgs@uaf.edu, at (907) 474-7449.