Director Jon Bowermaster Captures the Changing Tides of Man and Sea

 

It’s #FilmmakerFriday! And today we’re checking in with DCEFF alum Jon Bowermaster, writer, filmmaker and adventurer extraordinaire.

Bowermaster has written a dozen books and produced/directed more than fifteen documentary films, including SoLa:Louisiana Water Stories, which we’re showing (FREE) next Thursday, Aug. 17 at the Anacostia Community Museum.

Below, the filmmaker reflects on nearly two decades of exploration and reporting around the planet’s one ocean.

 

It was 17 years ago this summer that we (myself, Barry Tessman, Sean Farrell & Scott McGuire) spent six weeks traveling to and around the remote Islands of Four Mountains in the heart of the Aleutian Islands, halfway between Alaska and Russia. Even at the height of summer, the Aleutians are mostly miserable: Vicious winds, cold temps and an even colder sea (36 degrees F). Our challenge? To paddle among the five islands, climb each of the volcanoes (a couple still very active!) and bring back stories for the National Geographic Expeditions Council, which funded the adventure. This was the first of my Oceans 8 sea kayaking expeditions, a project that would take the next decade to complete — exploring an emblematic coastline on each continent — to share stories about the ever-changing relationship between man and sea.

— Jon Bowermaster, DCEFF Filmmaker

 

READ MORE via Ocean 8 Expeditions

 

EXPLORE MORE Festival films directed By Jon Bowermaster:

SoLa: Louisiana Water Stories

The Hudson: A River at Risk

Dear President Obama

After the Spill

Sink or Swim

On the Edge: Antarctica 3D