Festival hopes to leverage the power of film and visual media to help protect the oceans and the life within.

Whether you're putting on a scuba mask, looking thorough a camera lens, or simply enjoying a film, the BLUE Ocean Film Festival will inspire you to get involved and make a difference.

The festival, set for August 25-29. 2010, features some of the years’ best underwater and ocean-centered films, as well as discussions and seminars tailored to experts and beginners alike. The five-day conference is designed to celebrate and promote the artistic and scientific excellence and spirit of adventure required for great underwater filmmaking and photography.

Fabien Cousteau, president of the Ocean Futures Society and son of Jean-Michel Cousteau, is a driving force behind the film festival. The mission, Cousteau says, is to continue the passion for underwater filmmaking pioneered by his grandfather, the legendary Jacques Cousteau. The elder Cousteau would turn 100 this year.

Cousteau hopes to raise awareness and promote conservation of our oceans; a resource he says comprises 99 percent of the world's living space, and 97 percent of the world's bio-diversity. A resource that also remains 95 percent unexplored, Cousteau says.

Now making its permanent home at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey County, California, this global ocean-focused event will invite and delight with the screening of 60+ award winning ocean films, photography and visual arts exhibits.

Following the festival, a selection of winning films will tour the world, providing those who may not otherwise have access to these great films a chance to learn more about protecting our oceans.