Envoy: Shark Cull (PG13 - Some Coarse Language and Disturbing Scenes), 104min

The Queensland and New South Wales Governments are running the longest marine cull in history. Not only is it destroying our marine ecosystem, it’s putting swimmers at risk. Claiming that the current programs are successful is both deceptive and dangerous.

During the shooting of Envoy: Shark Cull the Government implemented a 20-meter exclusion zone around nets and drumlines – in an attempt to stop footage of what’s really going on… they failed.

Envoy: Shark Cull will expose it all.

19-23 Sep (Mon-Fri), 5pm
24 Sep (Sat), 1.45pm
25 Sep (Sun), 5pm
9 Oct (Sun), 1pm*
*Special screening with Meet the Director session after

The Blue Forest (PG), 30min

The Blue Forest is the first comprehensive film focusing on the important topics of kelp and seaweed around the world and explores how we can preserve one of the world’s most productive habitats. They are crucial to the health and survival of our planet, but sadly we are at risk of losing them. The Blue Forest exposes the vulnerability of these forests and how environmental conditions as well as the direct threat of human action, is severely challenging the resilience of these coastal ecosystems.

17 Sep (Sat), 1.45pm*
18 Sep (Sun), 5pm*
27-29 Sep (Tue-Thu), 6pm
*Special dual film screening with Ocean Souls

The Odyssey (PG), 122min

Summer, 1946. The Cousteau family - Jacques, his wife Simone and their two children Philippe and Jean-Michel - live in their beautiful house by the Mediterranean sea. By day they dive, by night they watch the stars. It's paradise on earth. But Jacques is never content. He lives and breathes adventure and believes absolutely in the virtues of progress. With his invention, the aqualung, his recently acquired vessel the Calypso, and a crew of free-spirited adventurers he is ready to cross the world's oceans.

Ten years later, back from boarding school, Philippe finds his father greatly altered – an international celebrity with megalomaniac dreams of grafting gills to humans and creating underwater cities. Jacques cannot see it yet, but Philippe already understands that progress and pollution have begun to lay waste to the marine world. Despite their mutual love and admiration, conflict between these two passionate men is inevitable.

26 Sep (Mon), 4.30pm
2 Oct (Sun), 1.45pm

Ghost Fleet (PG - Some Disturbing Scenes), 76min

Ghost Fleet follows a small group of activists who risk their lives on remote Indonesian islands to find justice and freedom for the enslaved fishermen who feed the world's insatiable appetite for seafood.

19-23 Sep (Mon-Fri), 1.45pm
24 Sep (Sat), 5pm
25 Sep (Sun), 1.45pm

Sanctuary (PG), 74min

This is the story of a cause to create the world’s largest marine sanctuary in the Antarctic Ocean. On this journey, we follow brothers Javier and Carlos Bardem, spokespersons for the Antarctic Sanctuary campaign, in their endeavour to raise the necessary awareness and support to make this initiative a reality. Gaining every inch of ground in this struggle to save the eco-system of the last untouched wilderness on the planet is no easy task. We will accompany our protagonists on their voyage aboard the Arctic Sunrise and see first-hand how science, politics and social media have joined forces to bring together almost 3 million people in support of this cause, that ultimately rests in the hands of an international governing body.

26-30 Sep (Mon-Fri), 1.45pm
1 Oct (Sat), 5.30pm
2 Oct (Sun), 5.30pm

The Smog of the Sea (PG), 30min

The Smog of the Sea chronicles a 1-week journey through the remote waters of the Sargasso Sea. Marine scientist Marcus Eriksen invited onboard an unusual crew to help him study the sea: renowned surfers Keith & Dan Malloy, musician Jack Johnson, spearfisher woman Kimi Werner, and bodysurfer Mark Cunningham become citizen scientists on a mission to assess the fate of plastics in the world’s oceans. After years of hearing about the famous “garbage patches” in the ocean’s gyres, the crew is stunned to learn that the patches are a myth: the waters stretching to the horizon are clear blue, with no islands of trash in sight. But as the crew sieves the water and sorts through their haul, a more disturbing reality sets in: a fog of microplastics permeates the world’s oceans, trillions of nearly invisible plastic shards making their way up the marine food chain. You can clean up a garbage patch, but how do you stop a fog? Using nostalgic super-8 footage, sparkling underwater cinematography, an original score by Jack Johnson and shipmate Simon Beins, and live action footage of the crew’s research, The Smog of the Sea provides a new perspective on the once pristine oceans, and makes an artful call to action for rethinking the scourge of the sea — single-use plastic.

27-29 Sep (Tue-Thu), 4.30pm

Children of the Sea (PG), 101min

Ruka befriends two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs. In the process, she learns about the various secrets of the sky, the universe and her connection with the sea.

30 Sep (Fri), 4.30pm
1 Oct (Sat), 1.45pm

The Map to Paradise (PG - Some Disturbing Scenes), 95min

From Executive Producer Martin Sheen, The Map to Paradise is an adventure-filled and spectacularly gorgeous tale about the birth of the global movement to protect the sea. From underwater worlds of ice to glistening coral sanctuaries, discover what it takes to build a movement and to create positive change. Filmed across six continents, the filmmakers have set out to challenge the mainstream narrative of hard-hitting environmental documentaries with a "doom and gloom" message, and replace it with one of hope and courage. Along the way, we meet a prince, a president, a pirate, and also an island chief — among others — who are all playing a role in the quest to save the planet. Mixing colorful character-driven stories and hand-rendered animations, The Map to Paradise is a rare, urgent environmental wake-up call that retains a sense of awe and wonder for the kind of beauty that is still possible.

3-7 Oct (Mon-Fri), 1.45pm

Bigger Than Us (NC16 - Some Nudity and Coarse Language), 96min

Bigger than us tells us the story of Melati and fellow activists across the globe, a new generation rising up to fix the world. The film touches on topics of human rights, the climate, freedom of expression, social justice as well as access to education and food. At a time when everything seems to be or has been falling apart, these young people show us how to live and what it means to be in the world today.

8 Oct (Sat), 5pm