4 Thursday, December 29, 2016 Island Beat Hawaii Tribune-Herald favorite film (to win the Audience Choice award),” Howard says. “As soon as I saw Ben Masters’ ‘Unbranded,’ I had a feeling it would take the award last year. It was a fun and exciting film that shared the beauty of the American West, showcasing the conservation of our public lands as a cornerstone of our national heritage.” This year, Masters returns to share the film one more time, as well as three short films, one of which offers a follow-up to “Unbranded” and the questions it posed regarding wild mustangs in the west. The Waimea Ocean Film Festival has several film categories: Ocean Experience (surfing, paddling, being on the water), Island Culture (looking at Hawaiian culture as well as other island cultures) and Ocean Environment (looking at the ocean environment and the impact of human activity on the sea). “Because the issues we face relative to the health of the ocean are daunting, there is an additional category of inspirational stories — of people doing great things or tackling the odds — the real hero stories,” Howard says. “It makes the overall feeling of the festival exciting, positive and upbeat, and leaves people feeling as though there is hope and that they, too, can accomplish things.” For Masters, “Unbranded,” as well as the other films he’s showcasing this year — “Pronghorn Revival,” “Water from Stone” and “Wild Horse Resolution” — feature people who are engaged in local conservation efforts. “I believe our society often looks toward others to tackle big issues,” Masters says. “They look to governments, cities or states to fix problems or to make the world a better place. “All the films I’m showing this year are about individuals doing grassroots things to benefit wildlife, nature and the world as a whole. Hopefully, people watch my films and think, ‘OK, here’s what these people did and they’re trying to make a big difference. So what’s my passion? What do I care about and how Photo: BRAIN FARM do I make a difference?” Masters’ films were accepted into nearly 40 film festivals this year, but he is only attending two of the events, Waimea Ocean Film Festival being one of them. “It’s fun and Tania (Howard) does a great job of curating the films that are impactful,” he says. “Plus, where else can you go to a film festival and surf, scuba, whale watch and look at dolphins?” Howard says many of this year’s filmmakers will be in FILM From page 2 See FILM Page 5 John John Florence catches air in Western Australia while filming.
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