Golden finish with the Festival of the Oceans in a unique night in Maspalomas

The largest and most important festival in Europe's oceans has closed its national tour in Maspalomas in the only outdoor event of its tour of a dozen Spanish cities, putting the finishing touch with a special and unique event in the Urban Park from the south. 

 

With a giant screen measuring 14,5 by 8 meters , a summer night in the middle of November, and a packed audience, the festival concluded this edition with a unique and exclusive screening in Spanish and English, with simultaneous sign language interpretation, and civic activism as its central theme. The International Ocean Film Tour Volume 9 projected a total of 6 short films from 7 countries on one of the largest screens installed on the island , representing three of the five continents, with documentaries from Australia, Germany, Tonga, Lebanon, Poland, England, and Spain.

 

The works 'The power of activism', 'No limits', 'George & the whales', 'Sweet adventure', 'Facing monsters' and 'Stolen fish' have thrilled audiences at the festival's debut in the south of the island, in an international offering of films for the whole family, complemented by the special guest of this event, the popularizer, marine scientist and social media content creator jc.oceans, Juan Carlos García, with more than a million followers across all his digital profiles.

 

 

“This festival is a different way of raising awareness among the population” so that the population “comes and becomes interested in the sea and conservation” because “for people to protect something, they first have to know it and love it, and these projections “They make you empathize with the ocean.” As Juan Carlos García has explained, in the Canary Islands the ecosystem is rich and diverse, and the only place in the world where angel sharks can be found regularly. However, “in the work I have done in the Canary Islands, everything I have filmed under the sea shows the good but also the bad, all the marine species and the wastewater outfalls that are emitting a large amount of waste,” in a reality that "not only happens in Tenerife, but happens in all parts of the islands." For the disseminator, this festival seeks to “raise a little awareness” and thus analyze “the impact of our actions on the ecosystem.”

 

As Chema Moreno explained on behalf of Kinema Producciones, promoter of the festival, “we have had a very good reception at this event, the first time we are in Maspalomas and in the south of Gran Canaria” for which he declared himself “very happy.” ”. 

 

The festival has had a great response “among the local public, the resident public but also the foreigners who live here or are on vacation” on the island, creating a “very transversal group, since the whole family has been brought” with representation “from adults or not so adults to children,” and “that is the most important thing, a festival that reaches everyone.”

 

The festival, which featured documentaries from Australia, Germany, Tonga, Lebanon, Poland, England, and Spain , donated the ticket proceeds to a local NGO for coastal and ocean cleanup and awareness projects. Oceans4Life received a donation of €1.500 from the Maspalomas event, which was given to this non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the Canary Islands' beaches.

 

 

The Councilor for Culture, Elena Álamo, has celebrated that the festival has this solidarity purpose that will help improve the beaches of the municipality, since in just one hour this association collected more than 1.000 cigarette butts in the Lighthouse area on Saturday morning. “That the national tour closes here, in Maspalomas Costa Canaria, positions the municipality as a destination with a message that is “very sensitive and as important as that of the protection of the oceans.” The festival “has been in different cities,” he noted, but only in San Bartolomé de Tirajana “we can project it like this, outdoors, in a unique and differentiated event on the tour” thanks to the benefits of the municipality, its services and infrastructure. .

 

Presented in its original version with Spanish subtitles, the festival has concluded a tour of 12 Spanish cities throughout the year and some 270 events held in 18 countries worldwide. Featuring the wildest and most unexplored seas, and six true stories told in the first person, the International Ocean Film Tour seeks to explore love, respect, and protection for the environment, addressing current issues reflected in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for a Circular Economy, promoting a more just and sustainable society, true equality, inclusion, fair reintegration, the fight against poverty, water management, sustainable cities, and the creation of partnerships, among other topics.

 

This festival, originally from Germany, through the German production company Moving Adventures GmbH, is promoted and distributed in Spain by Kinema Producciones SL, with the sponsorship of the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council, Maspalomas Costa Canaria and the collaboration of Top Time Eventos, Sonocom Audiovisuales, Sea Shepherd Spain, the specialized magazine AQUA and several environmental dissemination associations such as Latitud Azul, European Environment and Oceans4lifegc.