Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

 

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Our Ocean Film Showcase at the National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History, the U.S. Department of State, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, D.C. Environmental Film Festival, and BLUE Ocean Film Festival are pleased to launch the Our Ocean Film Showcase on September 10 in Baird Auditorium.

The ocean provides food, shelter, employment, and oxygen to billions of people, plants, and animals around the world. However, marine debris and pollution, illegal fishing, and the effects of climate change are degrading the health of the ocean, placing all things dependent on it in danger. A worldwide, diverse community of people committed to action and solutions can help change this dynamic.  The Our Ocean Film Showcase will feature a curated selection of outstanding ocean-related documentary films and include panel discussions to address and combat the problems our ocean faces.

This showcase will kick off a week of ocean-related programs and activities leading up to the third Our Oceans Conference on September 15-16, hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry and the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C., which will gather innovative thinkers and doers from around the globe to take action to protect the ocean.

 

Schedule of Films

Afternoon program 12-5:30 p.m.

For this afternoon program, after each film there will be 15-20 minutes to reset Baird Auditorium. At this time, those staying for the next film will be asked to move towards the center of the aisle to make room for those coming in. Due to the nature of this event, all seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. To help us prepare for this festival event, and to receive announcements concerning this event, please RSVP your interest in attending, and select which films you plan to attend. Note that your RSVP is not a ticket, and does not reserve a seat for this festival.

 

12:00 p.m. Humpback Whales (40 min.) Recommended for kids and families. Narrated by two-time Golden Globe® nominee Ewan McGregor, HumpbackWhales explores the world of nature’s most awe-inspiring mammals. Set in Alaska, Hawaii and Tonga, and captured for the first time with IMAX® 3D cameras, this ocean adventure offers an up-close look at how humpbacks sing, feed, play and raise their young. Found across the globe, humpbacks were nearly extinct 50 years ago, but are making a comeback. Join researchers as they find out why humpbacks are so acrobatic, why they sing, and why these 55-foot, 50-ton animals migrate 10,000 miles every year. A MacGillivray Freeman film presented by Pacific Life.

Introduced by Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at the National Museum of Natural History, and Caryn Mclleland, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. Followed by a Q & A discussion with Alyson Fleming, James Smithson Posdoctoral Fellow at the National Museum of Natural History and humpback whales expert.

1:15 p.m. The Last Ocean (87 min.) This film sounds a critical alarm as it reveals the startling and disturbing realities of the fishing industry in the Ross Sea. An international fishing fleet has recently found its way to the Ross Sea. It is targeting Antarctic toothfish, sold as Chilean sea bass in up-market restaurants around the world. The catch is so lucrative it is known as white gold. Californian ecologist David Ainley knows that unless fishing is stopped the natural balance of the Ross Sea will be lost forever. 

Introduced by Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at the National Museum of Natural History and Susan Cleary, Director of Policy and Public Outreach OES, U.S. Department of State. Followed by a discussion with featured expert in the film, Evan Bloom, Director of the U.S. State Department's Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs.

4:10 p.m. Wild Galapagos: Pristine Seas (47 min.) The Galápagos Islands are simply legendary, home to a collection of strange, beautiful, and wild creatures that you can’t find anywhere else on the planet. While these islands have been well studied, there is a whole other world underwater, a shark-filled paradise that Charles Darwinnever saw. In 2015 National Geographic’s Pristine Seas, an international collection of marine scientists and filmmakers, got an opportunity to explore the islands like never before. Led by Dr. Enric Sala, they dive in a marvelous subaquatic world, filled with sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas…and massive schools of hammerhead sharks. And they’ll deploy a manned submarine to explore over a thousand feet below the surface, to areas few, if any, have ever seen. But the waters around the Galapagos are not immune to pressures from the outside world. Overfishing, climate change, and warming events like El Niño are threatening this pristine ecosystem. Take an adventure with the Pristine Seas team, as they explore one of the most exciting, complex, and unique places on our planet, in an effort to help protect it…before it’s too late.

Introduced by Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at the National Museum of Natural History and Brooke Runnette, Executive Vice President, Chief Program and Impact Office at National Geographic Society. Followed by a discussion Dan Myer, International Policy Manager for Pristine Seas.  


RSVP for the afternoon program.

Evening program 6:30-9:00 p.m.

Due to the nature of this event, all seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. To help us prepare for this festival event, and to receive announcements concerning this event, please RSVP your interest in attending, and select which films you plan to attend. Note that your RSVP is not a ticket, and does not reserve a seat for this festival.

6:30 p.m.  A Plastic Ocean (99 min.) In the center of the Pacific Ocean gyre our researchers found more plastic than plankton. A Plastic Ocean documents the newest science, proving how plastics, once they enter the oceans, break up into small particulates that enter the food chain where they attract toxins like a magnet. These toxins are stored in seafood’s fatty tissues and eventually consumed by us.

Introduced by Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at the National Museum of Natural History, with opening remarks by Cathy Novelli, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, U.S. Department of State, and Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence and oceanographer. Followed by a discussion with Odile Madden, plastics expert and materials scientist at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute and Julie Andersen, film representative.

RSVP for the evening program.