Dunedin International Film Festival Kicks Off Thursday With Hope Of Saving World's Oceans

DUNEDIN, FL — For the fifth year, film fanatics will have a chance to preview the newest full-length and short films created by up-and-coming filmmakers around the world.

The Dunedin International Film Festival kicks off Thursday with a welcome party with DJ Back Bone from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at HOB Brewing Company, 931 Huntley Ave., Dunedin, followed by a panel discussion at 5 p.m. to discuss making films locally and abroad with film festival board and jury members and Blair Barnette of the St. Petersburg Film Commission.

Movie aficionados will also be able to pick up their passes, purchase additional tickets and buy commemorative T-shirts and pins at the official film festival box office outside the Dunedin History Museum, 349 Main St., Dunedin, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The fifth annual festival will feature 12 feature-length documentary films starting with one Thursday night that's near and dear to the hearts of Dunedin residents.

"Beacon City" will be shown at HOB from 6:45 to 7 p.m. This short documentary focuses on the creation and inspiration behind the Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot and the person who inspired the creation of Hope Spots, Dunedin native, world-renowned oceanography and founder of Blue-Green Connections, Dr. Sylvia Earle.

Afterward, from 7 to 7:15 p.m., Blue-Green Connections will host a discussion on the Hope Spots and the role the nonprofit environment stewards played in their creation.

In 2019, Dunedin celebrated its designation as the Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot, one of 119 Hope Spots around the world singled out due to their need for protection because of the unique role they play in the health of the global environment.

The Hope Spot designations are part of an international campaign launched by Mission Blue launched by Earle in 2009. Mission Blue is a global coalition of more than 200 ocean conservation groups, research institutes and rehabilitation centers dedicated to shedding light on the need to protect vital ocean ecosystems from offshore drilling, plastic pollution, altered hydrology and global warming. Click here for a list of Hope Spots.

Blue-Green Connections, a coalition of Gulf Coast organizations, governmental groups and businesses dedicated to protecting the area's lands and waters, campaigned vigorously to have the coast of Dunedin and abutting shorelines designated a Hope spot. Its 19 members include local chapters of the Sierra Club and Audubon Society, The Florida Aquarium, Mote Marine, the Pinellas County Commission, the city of Dunedin and small-business owners like Old Bay Cafe and Hog Island Fish Camp.

See related story: Dunedin To Celebrate Designation As Global 'Hope Spot'

The focus of the documentary film is the effort to encourage Florida cities to take on the challenge of becoming "Beacon Cities."

Blue-Green Connections is asking cities up and down the coast to promote sustainable activities that keep the waters healthy.

"We are encouraging municipalities to support these activities by recognizing their effort with a designation of Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot Beacon City," said Tracey Love Tippin, president of Blue-Green Connections.

Cities that fulfill a checklist of activities are designated Beacon Cities. It's no surprise that Dunedin was the first city to be declared a Beacon City.

Prior to the screening of "Beacon City," another short titled "Spathelf" will be presented from 6:30 to 6:45 p.m. It focuses on well-known Dunedin artist Steve Spathelf who has made a name for himself by painting Dunedin's trademark fruit, the orange, on homes and buildings throughout the city.

At 7:20, also at HOB Brewing Company, the short film "Water Colour" will be shown. The film focuses on Jane Smith, a wildlife artist living on the west coast of Scotland by the Sound of Jura, the United Kingdom's first Hope Spot. Her interest in painting the coastal forests lining the shores of the sound has turned her into an environmental advocate, fighting the scallop dredging and fish farming that threatens to destroy the pristine ecosystem.

The environmental theme continues at 7:45 p.m. with the presentation of a National Geographic nature documentary by filmmaker Cristian Dimitrius titled "Blue Brazil." Stretching along 4,000 miles, the Brazilian coast has rich biodiversity and the film allows the viewer to witness some surprise encounters through the eyes of Dimitrius.

The evening will conclude with an opening night party at 8 p.m. at The Nest,

The Dunedin International Film Festival runs from Thursday through Sunday. Films will be screened at HOB Brewing Co., The Nest At Caracara, the VFW, Moon Tower and TD Ballpark.

The festival will wrap up Sunday with a Red Carpet Gala and awards ceremony from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the Fenway Hotel, 453 Edgewater Drive, Dunedin. Click here for gala tickets.

For ticket information and a schedule of film screenings, panels and other events, click here.