The 8th Annual River and Ocean Film Festival was held April 2025

A peaceful scene of the Quinault River, with a moss-covered tree limb dangling in the foreground.

Quinault River en route to Enchanted Valley via the East Fork Quinault River Trail, Photo credit: Alison Lorenz

After an almost five-year hiatus the River and Ocean Film Festival returned to the Rainforest Arts Center in Forks on April 12th, 2025. This free, 2-hour event features a collection of short films that highlight the natural and social dimensions of the coast and coastal watersheds of the Olympic Peninsula. This year the festival included:

The Spawning Dance, by David Hahn (pre-event screening)
The Melt**, by Brian Zigulich and Alex Rupp
Rising From the Ashes, by Shane Anderson and Jesse Andrew Clark
Salish Synergy, by Washington CoastSavers
Tsunami 11th Relative*, by Ocean Networks Canada
Shelter from the Storm, by DoubleClick Productions
Can the Blueback Survive?, by North Forty Films
Líť’sit yiká· xá·bil-ts: Quillayutte River Restoration, by CaravanLab

* Best in show by audience polling
**Runner-up best in show by audience polling

 

Check out video Q&As with some of the festival’s directors and organizers below!

John Gussman: https://youtu.be/8NQTJlczGFg
Jill Silver: https://youtu.be/Aisfm2Ggba0
Megan Juran: https://youtu.be/QV-BnzNh3MY

And see films from previous festivals here

Sponsors

The River and Ocean Film Festival is brought to you by the North Pacific Coast Marine Resources Committee in collaboration with Washington Sea Grant. Event partners include the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee, and the Surfrider Foundation.

Consider a submission to next year’s festival

Films must be less than 20 minutes long, and relevant to the natural or social dimensions of the coast and coastal watersheds of the Olympic Peninsula. To submit a film, please email the title and length of the film to Ian Miller at immiller@uw.edu.