Oceans To Take Center Stage At 10th Annual Laguna Hero Fest
CONTACT: JEANNE MEYERS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Co-founder and Director
The MY HERO Project
949-376-5964
OCEANS TO TAKE CENTER STAGE AT 10th ANNUAL LAGUNA HERO FEST
LAGUNA BEACH, CA - 01/31/17 – The MY HERO Project and One World One Ocean are teaming up to host the 2017 Laguna Hero Fest, an annual event that celebrates the heroes who make the seaside city strong and vibrant. This year, as the Laguna Hero Fest celebrates its 10th anniversary, the celebration will honor those who work to protect the world’s oceans.
The Laguna Hero Fest is supported by a grant from the City of Laguna Beach. Local honorees are chosen from the many artists, humanitarians and musicians who share their talents with the community. Nominations and submissions are currently being accepted for the 2017 World's Ocean's Day celebration. We are inviting students and artists to create and submit songs, art and films about the ocean. For more information, visit myhero.com/laguna or watch the LHF sizzle reel here.
The 10th Annual Hero fest will be held June 8, 2017, to coincide with the United Nations’ World Oceans Day. The event will take place at [seven-degrees] in Laguna Beach. The annual event features an afternoon Children’s Program, as well as evening festivities suitable for all.
MY HERO’s Ocean Hero of the Year award will be presented to oceanographer, Sylvia Earle. Earle is a research scientist, an explorer, an author and a lecturer who has led more than 70 underwater expeditions. Earle served as chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and is currently a National Geographic explorer-in-residence. She was awarded the TED Prize in 2009 for her proposal to build a global network of marine protected areas called “Hope Spots.”
Earle is also advisor to the One World One Ocean campaign, a global movement led by Laguna Beach resident Greg MacGillivray, and his family, to raise awareness for ocean conservation. One World One Ocean sponsors the annual Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award in The MY HERO International Film Festival with a $500 cash prize. This award is presented to a filmmaker whose work shines a spotlight on everyday people working on behalf of the world’s oceans. The 2017 winner of this prestigious award will be announced, and screened, at the June 8th event.
The Laguna Hero Fest's evening program will also include excerpts from winning films from the past five years:
INVISIBLE OCEAN: PLANKTON AND PLASTIC (USA 2016), directed by Emily V. Driscoll, is a short documentary that follows project of scientist and artist Mara G. Haseltine. While analyzing the health of the oceans, Haseltine started collecting samples of plankton from different parts of the world. When analyzing the data, she found tiny shreds of plastic in all the samples, even those from the most remote locations. The finding spurred her to create a sculpture that demonstrates how the microscopic world of the oceans affects all of life on Earth.
WITH CHANGE COMES OPPORTUNITY (AUSTRALIA 2015) The short film by James Sherwood and Danielle Ryan features Rob Pennicott, a Tasmanian businessman who found his local fishing spot had been classified as a protected marine park. When he took a deeper look, he learned that having marine protected areas does not rule out opportunities for business. The short film takes a look at Pennicott Wilderness Journeys, and Pennicott’s discovery that having a good balance between the fishing industry and marine parks is beneficial for business as well as for future generations.
ISLA CORONADO GHOST NET (USA 2014), by Walter Marti, follows the Huntington Beach, California organization, Ocean Defenders Alliance, as workers remove discarded commercial fishing gear that is often hazardous to marine life. The short film takes us underwater with divers as they removed a discard a 1,000-pound fishing net, called a “ghost net,” and 100 lobster traps that had been left behind by fishermen. The film points out that small sea creatures become trapped in the nets, then the larger fish, sea lions and birds become entangled when searching for food, creating what environmentalists call, “a perpetual killing cycle.”
MR. WHALE (SENEGAL 2013), a short film by Cheikh Seck and Khalil Ba, tells the story of Karim Sall, a self-appointed guardian of the oceans and protector of ocean resources for future generations. When a whale becomes beached in Senegal, Sall is the person who gets called. Local children gave him the name “Mr. Whale” because of his devotion to protecting sea life.
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| Artwork by Patsee Ober, featured at the 2016 Laguna Hero Fest |
The MY HERO Project is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with a mission to share stories that celebrate the world’s heroes. Three mothers launched MY HERO, in 1995, to offer an alternative to the negative stereotypes and violence portrayed in the mainstream media. The MY HERO’s award-winning website (myhero.com) hosts the world’s largest archive of hero themed stories, art, music and short films. For more information about MY HERO, or the Laguna Hero Fest, call 949-376-5964 or visit www.myhero.com.
Page created on 1/31/2017 8:27:21 PM
Last edited 7/7/2017 11:35:34 PM
