A spectacular blend of some of the scuba diving industry's best and biggest names in photography and underwater adventure will be featured in the fourth annual Cayman Islands International Film Festival. For one night only, on Friday, January 26, 2007 at the Marriott Beach Resort, scuba enthusiasts and anyone loving an audio feast of beautiful imagery will be treated to an evening, with photographic talents and stories from around the globe second to none. The film festival, organized by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, is the second event in a high profile week for scuba divers around the world, which kicks off with the annual Induction Ceremony for the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame on January 25, 2007.

Each presenter at the Film Festival is a headliner, featuring topics from whales to the 'Titanic', new species discoveries from the Asia/Pacific region to surviving a horrific attack from a Great White shark. Mixed together with a good dose of humour and unparalleled story telling and the audience will be guaranteed a memorable night.

Rodney Fox, savagely mauled by a great white shark in 1963 will enthrall you with his death defying story and how it has turned him into one of his attacker's strongest defenders and protectors. He is one of the world's leading authorities on these feared and majestic animals and has consulted with National Geographic and worked on movies such as Jaws and Blue Water White Death.

One of the worlds leading pioneers of the dive travel industry, Carl Roessler, has been on several of Rodney Fox's white shark film expeditions and will thrill you with his photos in this field. Carl's vast collection of underwater images has been widely published; his sojourns around the world and his enthusiastic story-telling will have the audience at the edge of their seats.

Along with the fascinating shark presentations, the evening will be shared with equally spectacular presentations, on wonderful whales and the filming of the Titanic by Al Giddings. One of the world's most renowned cinematographers, producers and directors with credits ranging from James Bond movies such as Never say Never Again, and For Your Eyes only to the Titanic, Abyss and The Deep, Giddings's Emmy award winning films and world renowned IMAX film productions have made him a master of his craft.

A household name in the Southern Hemisphere for his prolific discovery of marine life species, his hundreds of thousand of images and volume of scientific and educational books, Neville Coleman's travels around the exotic Asia/Pacific marine world will fascinate young and old. He has lectured in many countries, including the US and will entertain you verbally and visually on anything from fish and mollusks to reef creatures and marine birds and is a respected photographic environmentalist.

Anchoring the evening will be Stan Waterman, a great friend of the Cayman Islands and Emmy award winner with his son for 'Dancing with Stingrays'. A renowned underwater cameraman and pioneer of the field since the 1950's, Waterman will delight the audience with his wonderful wit and obvious love of telling others about his lifetime of marine adventures.

Anyone with an interest in seeing beautiful world-class underwater photography and an opportunity to meet the photographers will greatly enjoy this rare event.

The event is organized by the Cayman islands Tourism Association

The Film Festival follows one day after the Induction Ceremony to the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, which will be held on Thursday, January 25, 2007 from 6:00PM at the Marriott Beach Resort.

Further information of Dive packages that include admission to both the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and the International Film Festival visit www.scubahalloffame.com/details.aspx


Background:


The Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) was formed in March 2001, through an amalgamation of the Cayman Tourism Alliance and the Cayman Islands Hotel and Condominium Association.           The CITA represents tourism businesses from all sectors, including hotels, condominiums, watersports operators, restaurants, attractions, airlines, tourism transport providers and allied tourism service providers. The CITA represents over 200 active and allied members and is active in the areas of industry and government relations, marketing and events, industry development and membership services. 
World Class Underwater Images at Cayman International Film Festival