Ocean Film Tour: Thunderous applause for Dunkerbeck documentary "Born to Windsurf"

The International Ocean Film Tour is entering its tenth edition in 2024. Despite all the streaming trends and Covid restrictions, Jo Hellinger and his team manage to bring a fascinating mix of films for "Ocean Lover" to the big cinema screens year after year. This year is no exception, and to the great delight of all windsurfers, a special version of "Born to Windsurf" is included. Björn Dunkerbeck's hunt for the 100 km/h sound barrier on the speedstrip is at the centre of this lavishly produced documentary. Producer Gerald Salmina has turned his almost one and a half hour long cinema version into an action-packed and emotionally charged edition for the Ocean Film Tour. On the huge screen and with the opulent sound system, the film thrilled the 1500 premiere visitors of the Ocean Film Tour. Björn and Gerald enjoyed the long and well-deserved applause on stage.

From the cinema to the clinic

Incidentally, Björn travelled to a specialist clinic in Bavaria almost immediately after the premiere in Hamburg. His second hip joint is now also being replaced there after his left hip was successfully operated on shortly before his 50th birthday. Nevertheless, Björn will present the long version of his documentary in person at the Surf Festival on 11 May.

• "Born to Windsurf": How the Dunkerbeck documentary was made - interview with director Gerald Salmina

The other films: Ice swimming, marine conservation and illegal surfing in Cuba

Ice Mermaid

American Melissa Kegler represents a sport that probably few of us are familiar with at the Ocean Film Tour: ice swimming! No wetsuit and water below five degrees are the prerequisites for this special competitive discipline. After Melissa Kegler from Seattle had her first ice mile under her belt, she was hungry for more. Instead of one mile (approx. 1.6 kilometres), she now wants to swim more than two kilometres in icy water and set a new American record. Swimming in water below five degrees Celsius, and without a wetsuit, is extremely physically demanding. Melissa has been training for this sporting challenge for years. She doesn't have a stereotypical athletic body, which is precisely why the record is all the more achievable for her than for many other athletes - despite all the problems that her body shape brings with it. Our film Ice Mermaid tells the story of her record attempt. Every windsurfer whose hands thaw painfully after windsurfing in cold water can understand Melissa's pain from the images of her uncontrollably trembling body after the record attempt. Ice Mermaid and its leading actress received a standing ovation after the film.

BEFORE I STARTED SWIMMING, I DIDN'T USE MY BODY. IT TOOK ME MANY YEARS TO REALISE THAT MY FIGURE WAS JUST RIGHT TO ACHIEVE GOALS THAT I WASN'T EVEN AWARE OF." Melissa Kegler

The Return to Antarctica

Captain Peter Hammarstedt and his team from Sea Shepherd Global set off for the Antarctic to draw attention to the massive overfishing of krill. The crustaceans, which are only a few centimetres in size, are the main food source for whales, penguins, seals and seabirds. They also bind huge amounts of carbon dioxide through their excretions.
At the moment, industrial fishing is jeopardising the entire Antarctic ecosystem through the mass fishing of krill. And it is doing so legally. This is why the Sea Shepherd Global Team led by Peter Hammarstedt and his colleague Alistair Allan from the Australian Bob Brown Foundation want to work with The return to Antarctica point out precisely this problem and ideally put industrial krill fishing in its place.

Older than trees

Sharks and rays have been around for more than 400 million years. Some species were already swimming through the oceans before there were any trees on earth. But these ancient species are in danger. Marine biologist James Lea has only been researching sharks for 20 years and has already witnessed a huge population decline during this short time. The animals are being hunted on a grand scale and their populations are no longer able to recover.
But how can we reverse this trend? This is the question that has been driving James Lea for years. He wants to find out how healthy ecosystems function and which areas should be designated as marine protected areas so that the animals can live in peace again and the ocean is in balance. Older than Trees talks about his research and his successes in establishing marine protected areas, known as Hope Spots.

Havana Libre

Anyone surfing in Cuba must always keep an eye on the beach as well as the waves. Because surfing is illegal in Cuba. Normality for surfers like Frank and Yaya. Surf culture here only takes place behind closed doors, official competitions are impossible. In Cuba of all places, where sport and Olympic disciplines in particular are highly valued, surfing is not recognised as a sport by the state.
Havana Libre follows Frank and Yaya over several years from 2016 and provides deep insights into the illegal subculture of surfers in Cuba. The film shows how the two of them campaign for the legalisation of their sport, how great their desire for more freedom is and what difficulties the young generation there has to contend with.

"SURFING IS SOMETHING WONDERFUL AND WORTH FIGHTING FOR." Frank Gonzales Guerra

Enthusiastic premiere audience

All five films of the 10th International Ocean Film Tour were celebrated frenetically by the audience at the premiere. Jo Hellinger and his team have once again succeeded in putting together a programme that will not only inspire "film buffs", but all people who love water and the ocean. The film festival is touring throughout Germany and Europe until 15 May.

• All dates and information can be found at: oceanfilmtour.com/en

Also interesting:

• 25 years of Big Sexy Pictures - Interview with Jobst von Paepcke and Florian Gebbert
• "The Investor": How the Wustrow surf centre became a film set