Author: Alfredo Casuso

Media Coverage Request: Today, 2pm – Mayor Farrell & Kiel, Germany Leaders Salute SF Ocean Film Festival at Fort Mason

media contact:

David Perry (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

MEDIA COVERAGE REQUEST / FRIDAY, MARCH 9 – 2PM

WHAT:

15th Annual International Ocean Film Festival &

Kiel, Germany Ocean Film Festival Salute Partnership

WHO:

San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell to speak

Additional Remarks By:

* Hanna Fleck, Kiel/San Francisco Sister City Committee

* Hans-Werner Tovar, President of the City Council of Kiel, Germany

* Ana Blanco, International Ocean Film Festival

* Till Dietsche, Kiel Ocean Film Festival

WHEN:

2pm, Friday, March 9

WHERE:

Cowell Theatre / Fort Mason: 2 Marina Blvd.

WEB:

www.oceanfilmfest.org

WHY:

Since its launch in 2004, the San Francisco-based International Ocean Film Festival has attracted thousands of spectators of all ages from around the world, including film enthusiasts, sea athletes, educators, and environmental supporters. Since then, the Festival has presented on average over 50 films annually from 15 different countries and featured post-film Q&A sessions with visiting filmmakers, special panel discussions with content experts, and the Annual Free Student Education Program. It was the first event of its kind in North America, inspired by the well-established ocean festival in Toulon, France, Festival International du Film Maritime, which has continued to draw large audiences for more than 40 years. The International Ocean Film Festival is a registered 501(c) 3 non-profit.

Friday’s program features films from the Kiel Ocean Film Festival

Nonoy and the Sea Monster (Austria), Florian Kozak, 5 min

When his parents talk of the sea monster that is wiping out the fish they need for survival, Nonoy, their young and imaginative son, creates a weapon whose magic powers will take care of the beast for good.

The Amazing Lifecycle of the European Eel (UK), Sofia Castello y Tickell 4 min

A delightful stop motion animation featuring the European eel’s life cycle and unusal theories behind it. Did you know that the Romans kept them as pets and adorned them with jewelry? The oldest known European eel lived to be over 100 years old. Nowadays they swim to the Sargasso Sea to complete their life cycles.

Bon Voyage (Switzerland), Marc Wilkins, 21 min

A couple’s pleasant Mediterranean sailing trip is thrown into tension-filled turmoil by an encounter with refugees desperate to escape their violence-torn North African homelands.  In just 20 minutes, this powerful film puts us in the middle of a moral quandary.

Lionfish – New Pirates of the Caribbean (Germany), Ulf Marquardt, 52 min

The extraordinary lionfish festooned with numerous and strange appendages has long been a highlight for snorkelers and scuba divers in the Pacific Ocean where it has its place in the piscine pecking order. After it was thoughtlessly introduced into the Caribbean and the Atlantic, however, the lionfish took advantage of the lack of predators and its population skyrocketed. This is one fish you need have no compunction about eating.

media contact:

David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Media Advisory:  Thursday, March 8

— International Womans Day Event

WHO:

Women Are Focus on Opening Day

at SF’s 15th International Ocean Film Festival

WHERE:

Fort Mason’s Cowell Theatre

2 Marina Blvd., San Francisco

WHAT / WHEN:

International Womens Day

Thursday, March 8

4pm

PROGRAM 1

She is the Ocean (Russia), Inessa Blokhina, 101 min.

Nine extraordinary women from all over the world — scientists, activists, surfers, divers —  share one thing in common: a deep love for the ocean. Their lives are shaped by and around the ocean which is their home, source of life, and the teacher they revere and worship.

8pm

PROGRAM 2 – Opening Night Party

Stars (USA), Han Zhang, 5 min.

A grandfather and his grandson sell stars on the street in a seaside town. One night their supply runs out, and the grandson embarks on a journey to fish for more stars.

Kim Swims (USA), Kate Webber, 75 min.

Kim Chambers was the first woman (and one of only four people) to swim solo the 26 miles between the Farrallon Islands and San Francisco. This feat is the culmination — so far —  of Kim’s life story, from growing up on a sheep farm in New Zealand to working in the Bay Area tech industry and experiencing a life-changing accident. Kim’s story will inspire and perhaps challenge the viewer to consider the potential in each of us.

WHY:

Since its launch in 2004, the San Francisco-based International Ocean Film Festival has attracted thousands of spectators of all ages from around the world, including film enthusiasts, sea athletes, educators, and environmental supporters. Every year, the festival has presented close to 50 films from 15 different countries and features post-film Q&A sessions with visiting filmmakers, special panel discussions with content experts, and the annual Free Student Education Program. The festival was the first event of its kind in North America, inspired by the well-established ocean festival in Toulon, France, which has continued to draw large audiences for more than 40 years.

Media Contact:

David Perry / David Perry & Associates, Inc. / cell: (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

MEDIA INVITE & ADVISORY / ONSITE COVERAGE REQUEST:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7

WHEN:  Wednesday, March 7: 11am

WHERE:  5016 Mission Street (between Italy & Seneca)

• Across the Street from the “Sons of Italy” Hall

San Francisco, CA

WHAT: Groundbreaking for new Family Connections Facility

WEB: www.portolafc.org

WHY: In 2018, Family Connections celebrates 25 years of service to families. Today, they “break ground” begin renovation of a new facility that will greatly expand the ability to fulfull their mission. Family Connections exists to develop strong, healthy families and to build thriving communities in the Portola and Excelsior neighborhoods. Family Connections provides opportunities for people of different backgrounds to work together cooperatively, sharing cultures, values, knowledge, and resources.

Families of the Portola and Excelsior communities will continue to have access to multicultural/multilingual resources and neighborhood support services that provide opportunities for community-driven initiatives and strengthening individual skills to create a safer, healthier, and empowered community in which to raise children

Family Connections serves primarily low-income, immigrant working families and individuals in community centers located in San Francisco’s Portola and Excelsior neighborhoods. Our array of more than 30 interconnected, participant-driven programs is designed to provide a comprehensive continuum of care from early childhood education to grandparent support groups and from family literacy to intensive case management. Our goal is to support and empower parents and caregivers to develop healthy families that will, in turn, create a thriving community in which to raise children.

media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Award-Winners Announced for 15^th Annual International Ocean Film Festival

$ 115,000 Raised at “Off The Reef” Gala 

Festival runs March 8 – 11 at San Francisco’s Cowell Theater

Additional Screenings at SF’s Roxie and Marin’s Lark Theaters

www.oceanfilmfest.org 

1 March 2018 – San Francisco, CA: “And the envelope please……” Not to be upstaged by the Oscars – it is after all “Award Month” – the San Francisco based International Ocean Film Festival has announced the 10 winning films for its highly coveted annual awards.  Coming off the Festival’s most comprehensive selection season and an equally as successful fundraising cycle, the so called “Sundance of ocean film festivals” is poised for a landmark series of offerings March 8 – 11 in venues in San Francisco and Marin.

“It’s a cliché but also a truism that every one of our films is a winner and worthy of an award,” said Ana Blanco, executive director for the International Ocean Film Festival “Having said that, 10 films stood out for us as most representative of our mission: saving our oceans, one film at a time.”

This year’s award winners are:

Coastal Culture Award: The Islands and the Whales (United Kingdom – 81 minutes), director Mike Day. Screening: Saturday, March 10, 7:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

Conservation Award: Seeking Sanctuary (United Kingdom – 11 minutes), director Nick Jones. Screening: Saturday, March 10, 1:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

Environment Award: Reefs at Risk (USA – 11 minutes), director Malina Fagan. Screening: Friday, March 9, 7:00 pm and Saturday, March 10, 4:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason; and Sunday, March 11, 5:00 pm, Lark Theater, Larkspur, CA,

Golden Gate Award: Kim Swims (USA – 75 minutes), directors Kate Webber & David Orr. Screening: Thursday, March 8, 8:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

Short Award: The Agave Gun (USA/Mexico – 10 minutes), director Ross Haines. Screening: Friday, March 9, 7:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco.

Wildlife Award: Albatross (USA – 97 minutes), director Chris Jordan. Screening: Sunday, March 11, 4:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

Director’s Award: Lionfish: New Pirates of the Caribbean (Germany – 52 minutes), director Ulf Marquardt. Screening: Friday, March 9, 4:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco.

Adventure Award: Touched by the Ocean (Latvia – 68 minutes), directors Laura Rožkalne-Ozola & Sandijs Semjonovs. Screening: Saturday, March 10, 4:00 pm at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

Citizen Science Award: Return of the Harbor Porpoises (USA – 10 minutes), director Jim Sugar. Screening: Saturday, March 10, 10:00 am at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

Animation Award: Chiripajas (Russia/Spain – 2 minutes), directors Olga Poliektova & Jaume Quiles. Screening: Saturday, March 10, 10:00 am at Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA.

Since its launch in 2004, the San Francisco-based International Ocean Film Festival has attracted thousands of spectators of all ages from around the world, including film enthusiasts, sea athletes, educators, and environmental supporters. Every year, the festival has presented close to 50 films from 15 different countries and features post-film Q&A sessions with visiting filmmakers, special panel discussions with content experts, and the annual Free Student Education Program. The festival was the first event of its kind in North America, inspired by the well-established ocean festival in Toulon, France, which has continued to draw large audiences for more than 40 years.

Sponsors for the 15th Annual International Ocean Film Festival include National Marine Sanctuaries, the Canadian Consulate of San Francisco and Silicon Valley, MINI Cooper, SSA Visitor Services for Cultural Attractions, Port of San Francisco, RBC Wealth Management, Alcatraz Cruises, Big Bus San Francisco, Gray Line of San Francisco, San Francisco Magazine, and Hotel Zephyr, official hotel sponsor for the festival.

The 15th Annual International Ocean Film Festival will take place March 8 – 11, 2018, at San Francisco’s Cowell Theater at Fort Mason with additional screenings on Sunday, March 11 at San Francisco’s Roxie Theatre and at the Lark Theater in Larkspur. A full, detailed schedule of all screenings may be found online at www.oceanfilmfest.org. The International Ocean Film Festival is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit.

CONGRESS TURNING BACK THE CLOCK ON THE ADA!

– Disability Community Holding Members of Congress Accountable –

Media Contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. / (415) 676-7007/ news@davidperry.com

12 February, 2018 – San Francisco, CA:  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is under attack in Congress, threatening the hard fought gains of the last 27 years which ushered in a new era of accessibility and participation for Americans with disabilities. 

H.R.  620, sponsored by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) and co-sponsored by some Democrats, including Rep. Jackie Speier, eliminates incentives for business compliance with the landmark civil rights law for disabled Americans.

The bill, misnamed the “Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Education and Reform Act,” would in actuality, remove consequences for businesses that don’t comply with the ADA.  Today, businesses have an obligation to make themselves accessible and there is a consequence if they don’t do so.  Under H.R. 620, the heaviest burden on ending discrimination is placed upon those whom the ADA was created to protect.  Individuals who encounter an access barrier would have to send a written notice of the ADA provisions being violated to the business in question.

“Congress is again favoring the powerful at the expense of the vulnerable by turning back the clock on the ADA,” said Jessie Lorenz, Executive Director of the Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco (ILRCSF).  “Pulling the teeth out of ADA’s compliance enforcement would give a pass to businesses from Wal-Mart to Starbucks, effectively closing the door on continued possibility, integration and the significant economic gains and contributions of Americans with disabilities.”

Disability Action for America is calling upon people with disabilities to hold their members of Congress accountable for threatening the rights of disabled Americans. The National Council on Independent Living and ILRCSF fully support this call to action and will continue to fight with our community against the unjust treatment of Americans with Disabilities.

Locally, Representative Jackie Speier is supporting this blatant attempt by Congress to turn back the clock on years of opportunity expansion and contributions, which has changed the societal landscape for the better.  ILRCSF urges all disabled people in this district to contact Representative Speier to clearly express that the disability community will hold those who vote in support of H.R. 620 accountable.

“Members of the House will apparently have the opportunity to vote on this destructive bill, but we will have the opportunity to vote in November,” said Jessie Lorenz. “We won’t forget and will urge people with disabilities in our community to vote for the Congressional candidate who supports their rights.”

Disability Action for America (Full Statement):http://www.disabilityactionusa.com/2018/02/07/action-needed-to-save-the-americans-with-disabilities-act/

ILRCSF, staffed almost entirely by people with disabilities, offers support, advocacy, and information regarding the rights of people with disabilities to individuals, educational institutions, and the small business community.
Programs at ILRCSF include everything from peer counseling and help with assistive technologies, to economic empowerment workshops and accessible housing advocacy. In recent years, the agency has expanded outreach to include a program geared towards youth empowerment and has now become home to a number of peer support groups including a Veterans’ Art Guild, in which military veterans living with service-related disabilities work on creative projects ranging from photography and sculpture to creative writing.

For more information visit www.ilrcsf.com