Always wanted to surf but never had to courage to pick up a board? Well, you don’t need to know how to catch a wave to catch the Wavescape Film Festival. Immerse yourself in the world of surfing, nature and marine conservation, all from the comfort of dry land! The Wavescape Film Festival is into its 10th year, and offers viewers the chance to experience the ocean on the big screen in a unique and engaging way.

Films will be screened at various locations around Cape Town – dig your toes into the sand of Clifton 4th Beach this Saturday evening for Taylor Steele’s documentary, Here And Now , featuring some of the biggest names in surfing. The festival then moves to The Brass Bell in Kalk Bay and The Labia in Orange Street.

This evening, Wavescape will also host an auction for their annual Art Board Project. Every year, 10 artists are invited to turn surfboards into amazing works of art. The artists kindly work pro-bono and the money raised from the auction goes to the National Sea Rescue Institute, Shark Spotters and Isiqalo’s Waves for Change. This year, artists include Guy Tillim, Roger Ballen, Fuzzy Slipperz and Brett Murray.

Ross Frylinck, who founded the Wavescape Surf Film Festival in 2004, says “We have been noticing a shift from land-based conservation to ocean and more generally water conservation. We can no longer assume there will be clean water to surf and swim in and that there will be a wide variety of fish to eat. Our scientists tell us that unless we make better choices today, the increasing pressure on our marine ecosystems from overfishing, pollution and climate change will have far-reaching and, in some cases, devastating consequences for our life on earth. As this reality filters through, we are likely to see blue become the new green.”

Janine Basson, manager of the WWF-SASSI initiative, who will be speaking at Wavescape Slide Night (an informal, TED-type event), said that overfishing and its associated environmental impacts was the biggest global environmental challenge to food security next to climate change.

“Here in South Africa, a developing country where management resources are frequently limited and the drivers of overfishing include the need to meet basic food security and livelihoods for many impoverished fishing communities, this is a real cause for concern. But, equally, we have never been in a better position to improve the situation.”

With marine conservation as a core theme of this year’s event, the Wavescape Surf Film Festival promises to offer awe-inspiring insights into the oceans, whilst raising awareness about the threats they face. Find out more details about the festival on their website: www.wavescapefilmfestival.co.za

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