International Underwater Film Festival

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The International Underwater Film Festival was the world's first event dedicated to the new genre of underwater film . Until then there was no comparable forum for this.

history

In the early 1950s, the number of scuba divers around the world who liked to take photos and film underwater increased. Especially in the USA, where underwater photography for scuba divers had its boom a few years earlier than in Europe, the idea of ​​creating a film and photo festival and an award especially for underwater photographers and filmmakers came up.

The two scuba divers Albert Tillman and Zale Parry were the founders of the "International Underwater Film Festival" in Los Angeles in 1957 . Despite the rather grandiose title, it was of national importance in the first few years. It was held in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium , the same building in which the "Oscars" are awarded. That may be one reason why the award given at the Underwater Film Festival for the best underwater photographer is often referred to as "Underwater Oscar" and is equated with the "Oscar®" award given annually to filmmakers by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The catchy and misnomer "Unterwasser-Oskar" was spread in Germany by the news magazine "Der Spiegel" in Hamburg, which named it that way in an article. However, both awards and festivals are completely independent of each other.

The Underwater Film Festival was based on the idea of ​​making amateur photos and films accessible to a wide audience. That is why the visit and participation were free in the first few years. Sponsors took over the still manageable costs. The event was organized by the Underwater Photographic Society based in Los Angeles, sponsored by Skin Diver Magazine and the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department.

The last underwater film festival took place in 1966. Then it was discontinued because television was everywhere and there were hardly any pure underwater movies produced.

Award winners

At the first underwater festival in 1957, Jacques-Yves Cousteau received the award "Outstanding Underwater Photographer of the Year". In 1958 it was Lamar Boren , the leading American underwater filmmaker, who, for example, shot the film “Underwater!” For MGM with Jane Russell in 1955 and who was later responsible for the underwater shots of the James Bond film “ Thunderball ”. On December 12, 1959, the award went to Hans Hass .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Der Spiegel, Hamburg, December 9, 1959.

literature