2019 NORDHAVN FILM FESTIVAL
The 2019 Nordhavn Film Festival Grand Prize Winner:
AURORA SAVES - DENZIL BAYNES
Congratulations!
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Lights! Camera! Action!
What do you get when you combine the world’s greatest expedition motoryachts with video footage of remote, exotic locales and exhilarating high seas adventure? You get the most exciting film festival ever to hit the boating industry: The Nordhavn Film Festival!
At the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show last year, Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc. (PAE) announced the Nordhavn Film Festival (NFF), a unique way to challenge the scope of Nordhavn cruising video posts. In response, we received commitments from 26 budding filmmakers vying to tell their Nordhavn cruising story. With a $10,000 cash prize at stake, you can bet contestants will be cranking out painstakingly produced documentaries aimed at telling a meaningful narrative, painting a captivating picture, evoking emotion and drawing the viewer into the wonderful world of Nordhavn.
The NFF movie premiere will be a great spectacle, taking place at PAE Headquarters in Dana Point, CA, on Saturday, October 12. The premiere will showcase the films of the 10 finalists, preceded by a sit-down dinner, cocktails and entertainment. The goal of the NFF organizers is to mimic the Hollywood film festivals in terms of aesthetic and esteem. A limited number of tickets are available for Nordhavn owners to purchase at a cost of $50 per person. Please email film@nordhavn.com if you have any questions.
UPDATES
September 25 2019
Just a reminder.
Last day to purchase Nordhavn Film Festival tickets is Friday, Sept 27th Click here to purchase
September 18, 2019
The votes are in!
NFF top 10 finalists named
Moviemakers were hard at work the past 11 months crafting their Nordhavn films. In the end, there were 18 submissions to the Nordhavn Film Festival, which our panel of judges have narrowed down to 10. The movies competing for the title of Best Nordhavn Film are:
| TITLE | SUBMITTED BY |
| Adventures In Nordhavn Comfort | Jim Frantz |
| A Nordhavn Love Story | Nicole Potter and Cody Sheehy |
| Aurora Saves | Denzil Baynes |
| Beyond Convention | Dougal Gardyne |
| Captain Andy & Friends | Gordon Turner and Nigel Macleod |
| Father to Son: A Legacy of Adventure | Adam Paskowitz |
| Flotilla, Fever and Smack: Collective Terms in the Cruising World | Alexa Shanafelt |
| Our Nordhavn Life | Elizabeth Krenke |
| VivieRae II | Jean de Ridder |
| When Dreams Align | Brooke Palmer |
“This was such a fun assignment,” said NFF judge and Passagemaker Editor-in-Chief Andrew Parkinson. “The movies were all great but for me, there were four that stood out from the pack.”
Contestants are vying for three runner up prizes (provided by Imtra/Maximum weather instruments) and one $10,000 cash grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Nordhavn Film Festival October 12th in Dana Point, CA.
August 13, 2019
What will be the winning storyline?
Two weeks to submit videos; under two months until the Premiere
With less than two weeks left for contenders to submit their Nordhavn films, anticipation is building to see just how creative, how interesting, how well produced and how entertaining a movie these fledgling directors can put together.
Upon the September 1st deadline, all submitted films will be screened for authenticity and then forwarded to our judges who will view, deliberate, and determine the ultimate winner. With a huge cash prize on the line and three exemplary runner-up awards courtesy of Imtra, not to mention the thousands of aficionados across the world who will see the films, the competition is expected to be fierce.
An independent judging panel comprised of marine, television and movie industry experts will review the films, ensuring all aspects – from cinematography to storyline – are thoroughly critiqued. The panel consists of:
Arthur Grace: An award-winning photojournalist whose images have appeared in Life, Time, and Newsweek magazines, featured in major movie posters including “Good Will Hunting” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” and in permanent collections at the Getty Museum and the National Portrait Gallery among others, and his photos are featured. Mr. Grace and his wife Debra also own a Nordhavn 35 Grey Gull.
Kate Humphries: An Australian native and Nordhavn enthusiast who has studied the brand alongside the likes of Nordhavn owners and pioneers James and Jennifer Hamilton.
Bruce Kessler: A television director of many known titles including Mission Impossible, The Commish, The Fall Guy, Hardcastle & McCormick, and Hart to Hart among many others. Mr. Kessler also produced the 2005 Nordhavn documentary Living the Dream.
Andrew Parkinson: Editor-in-chief of Passagemaker magazine
Jo Swerling: A television producer and writer whose credits include Kraft Suspense Theater, Run For Your Life and Wiseguy.
Jeff Swoboda: Vice president of development – marine projects for Short Shoot, Inc., a production and distribution company of short form entertainment.
The NFF will celebrate the films and filmmakers with a lavish premiere October 12th at Nordhavn’s headquarters in Dana Point, CA. We’d like to thank our terrific sponsors for aiding us in our effort to create a celebration worthy of the first – and greatest – marine manufacturer-led film festival ever.
NORDHAVN FILM FESTIVAL VIDEO SUBMISSION FORM
RULES AND REGULATIONS
LENGTH: between 5-10 min.
FORMAT: Youtube link. Videos should be uploaded to youtube.com, and the visibility set to unlisted. Videos can be submitted by filling out the NORDHAVN FILM FESTIVAL VIDEO SUBMISSION FORM form below. Please email film@nordhavn.com if you have any questions.
DEADLINE: Sept. 1, 2019
TERMS & CONDITIONS:
Winners will be chosen by the “academy”, a volunteer panel made up of industry professionals, Nordhavn owners (not participating in the contest) and cruising enthusiasts. The top vote getter will win the Grand Prize, a cash award of $10,000. Runners up will also be recognized. Finalists will be notified by September 13th and the winners will be announced at the Nordhavn Film Festival premiere event October 12th in Dana Point, CA at PAE headquarters.
Event is open to anyone who can produce a quality video about adventure cruising on a Nordhavn. Videos that do not meet the length, deadline, format, and/or quality requirements will be ruled ineligible. Shortly after a video link is submitted, a notification will be sent indicating the eligibility/nomination status of the film. Contest is open to anyone who is not an employee or relative of PAE’s staff or anyone on the judging panel. All video is eligible regardless of date taken, however at least 75% of the footage cannot have been previously posted. All videos will be judged equally regardless of professional production assistance. Final videos must not be made public or shared. Once a video is submitted, PAE maintains the rights to post and use for promotional purposes.
Attendance to the Nordhavn Film Festival is reserved for anyone submitting a qualifying video plus one guest. The awards ceremony will follow a black-tie dinner and film screening. Tickets left over may be purchased. An announcement regarding available tickets will be made at a later date.
SPONSORS
Thank you to our key vendors and associates who are partnering with us on the Nordhavn Film Festival
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Sponsor's Movie Storylines
This story starts on June of 2005 in the Indian Ocean, the owners of N68 “Liebre del Mar” Ted & Rachel Costa recently retired from teaching at UC Irvine and decided to put some distance from their California residence, having some experience on their previous N55 they decided to take a year off and travel to the south pacific, Australia and Maldives.
On the morning of June 25th and underwater earthquake prompted a Tsunami warning for the Atolls of the Maldives, fortunately they wore 150 nm east from the small island of Guraidhoo in deep water when it hit the island.
The next day the reports and communication from Guraidhoo were poor the only news came from Male located 32 km north. When they arrived that evening they had to anchor outside from the harbor away from floating debris and wait for daylight to go ashore on the tender.
The next morning they could see the vast devastation most of the buildings were in ruins and emergency services were limited since the local clinic had lost a lot of supplies.
Booth being doctors @ UC Irvine School of Medicine they had some medical supplies onboard and quickly offered to help the local doctor’s with the injured.
After the tsunami the underground water wells in most islands were contaminated by sewage, waste and salt water, The 1,800 inhabitants of the small island of Guraidhoo faced severe water shortages .
With our N68 having (2) FCI MaxQ 1850 Gpd water makers we sprung to action and took the boat to the ferry dock. During the next 5 days we lost count how many thousands of gallons were distributed to the local inhabitants including the clinic and orphanage.
Finally on July 1st help started to arrive from France, UK, India and Diego Garcia Base with emergency equipment.
On July 3rd “Liebre del Mar ” left Guraidhoo island arriving in Colombo Sri Lanka for needed fuel and supplies to start the voyage back west and eventually return were the trip began almost a year ago in Ensenada’s Marina Coral were they hope to meet up with other Nordhavn owners in the fall.
Derek Stern, Imtra Corp. – “Enemies and Neighbors”
A group of Nordhavn’s decides to follow in the footsteps of the “Wrong Way Gang” and cross from Alaska to Japan. The group is led by James Gregory, a former operative in the CIA that retired two years earlier and has been planning this adventure.
Several weeks into what has been a rather uneventful trip, they stop overnight at Little Diomede Island. The last landmass before crossing over the International Date Line. Upon departing the next day, the group decides to circle the island’s Russian neighbor, Big Diomede Island, roughly two miles west.
After researching Big Diomede Island, the group expects to see a Russian weather station and small group of soldiers in the Russian border patrol. However, what they see when cruising the northern coast is significantly different from their expectations. Massive excavation equipment is boring into the side of the tabletop mountain that dominates the island. The size and scale of the project suggests an immense military presence and James is convinced they are creating runways that are hidden inside the mountain. The location would allow the Russian military to enter US airspace and be in position to fire so quickly that the US military wouldn’t have time to react.
They depart immediately and James orders radio silence. With the use of some “toys” he took from the CIA, he can see that their radio is being monitored and a submarine, not visible on normal radar, is following their every turn. The suspicion that they’ve seen something they shouldn’t have is now confirmed and James must determine how to handle the situation and save the lives of their entire group.
Using the radio-spying to their advantage, they stage a discussion about mechanical issues and needing to return to Little Diomede Island. They try to calm the Russian military by speculating that what they saw must have been a mining operation and wondering what type of minerals would be found in a volcano that had erupted while trapped under a glacier.
Back at Little Diomede, and under the cover of total darkness, James suits up and makes the two-mile swim. He hikes up the mountain undetected and sneaks into the excavation site. His fears are confirmed when he finds a hundred Russian fighter jets, armed with missiles. Documents suggest they are planning an attack on Vancouver, British Columbia, with an elaborate media campaign in place that puts the responsibility on the US and aims for Russia to form an alliance with Canada.
The attack is scheduled for the next day and there isn’t enough time to safely send a message and alert the US government. At the same time, a massive storm expected to pass to the south has shifted and is now headed straight for the Diomedes. Can James prevent the next world war, escape the Russian military and survive the biggest storm that season in the Bering Sea?
A boat owner is in a rush to move his boat to a certain location. (Maybe a wedding, fleeing a crime scene or for a very important get-together such as the Nordhavn Film Festival.)
He can’t get engines to run and discovers he needs a specific part that’s made in Taiwan or a component crucial for navigation. He calls 2 different suppliers.
Supplier one has nothing in stock or has a long lead-time.
Supplier two’s prices are just way too expensive.
Boat owner starts to hesitate and feel desperate to fix his boat. All of the sudden, he remembers being handed an MMI business card. He pulls the business card from this shirt pocket. A holy bright light shines behind the card with angels singing in the background.
He hurries up and calls MMI to find out said part is in stock, it’s price is half the price of supplier two’s and it will ship out today! Owner happily orders the parts with a sigh of relief.
MMI warehouse receives rush order. Pulls goods from shelf. Dramatically packs goods rapidly. Seals package and slaps label on.
Driver in sunglasses picks up package.
Driver delivers package directly to boat owner’s location while smiling and shaking his hand.
Owner opens package leading to a burst of happiness and says in a cheesy fashion: “Thank you, MMI! I can always count on you!”
Other plugs throughout the movie:
Packages seen in the movie can have MMI logos engraved on sides.
Someone doing repairs or anything technical with boats wears our MMI shirts.
Someone wearing nautical MMI logo hats.
Flipping through phone-book showing MMI Marine as one of their favorite contacts.
Any scene with a computer screen shows MMI website before browsing to other pages.