ABOUT
Dive In to the
FREMANTLE UNDERWATER FILM FESTIVAL!
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You are invited to attend a memorable evening, showcasing the biodiversity and wonder of our oceans through a hand-picked selection of short, underwater films.
The official screenings for the Fremantle Underwater Film Festival (FUFF) are held in Fremantle, Western Australia. FUFF is screened annually in coastal towns and cities around regional Western Australia, interstate and across the seas. The festival screens just under two hours of short films in two acts, with an interval in between acts.
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The Fremantle Underwater Film Festival (FUFF) is a not for profit, independent, grassroots social and environmental movement towards better ocean health.
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"ocean health
and human health
are one".
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I created the FUFF to build a more sustainable world by bringing ocean stories, marine science and the transformational nature of the human-water connection into your life in creative ways.
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Each night of the festival I aim to:
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Share interesting, fun and thought-provoking short films to highlight the magical mysteries of the underwater world
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Showcase the work of talented local and global underwater film makers and animators, with a feature on personal ocean stories and educational messages that can help to spread awareness of how to exist in harmony with the marine realm
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Raise awareness about critically endangered marine species such as the scalloped Hammerhead Sphyrna lewini, the Green Sawfish Pristis zijsron and the West Australian endemic coral reef-associated short-nosed sea snake Aipysurus apraefrontalis that may go extinct in our lifetime without concerted efforts to change our ways for the better
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Raise funds for marine biodiversity conservation projects with 100% of our ticket sales going to help save critically endangered marine species from extinction, with our major conservation cause being New Zealand's endemic Maui Dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori maui. We have raised over $50,000 in the past decade of shows to stop the decline of this species. Learn more about Maui Dolphin and our charity partner here.
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Promote the coastal City of Fremantle as a unique Australian place where the community is made up of especially caring ambassadors for the underwater world
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The Fremantle Underwater Film Festival (FUFF) ran a community campaign in its hometown of the City of Fremantle to help protect our local ocean life by petitioning the council to ban disposable plastic straws at all retail outlets in Fremantle .
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Thank you to the global community that helped by signing our online petition to show support for marine biodiversity conservation. We reached over 5,000 signatures that were hand-delivered to the Fremantle Council in a bid to protect our marine wildlife and reduce unnecessary disposable plastic waste polluting and damaging our precious ocean ecosystems. Changes in plastic waste management and an advocacy policy were the positive result of this action to protect our sea life.
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"The ocean exists as a fundamental
reality of the earth.
Through that mirror YOU can see
the fundamental reality of YOUR selF"
- Carlos Eyles
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Tania Douthwaite, is the Founder and Director of the
Fremantle Underwater Film Festival (FUFF) .
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I HAVE A STRONG LOVE OF COMMUNITY
AND DEEP CONNECTION WITH the ocean.
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As a marine scientist, master freedive instructor and creative OCEAN artist I've developed a broad and comprehensive background in marine science and creative communications that have been an invaluable compliment to my 20 years of experience working in ocean-related industries. My interests and expertise range from ocean science communication at state conferences to recreational fisheries management, community-scale marine citizen science research to being a program leader in the field of freediving safety and freediving for mental health.
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In the underwater realm, I'm best known for my leadership role in the Western Australian freediving industry, championing the well-being benefits of trauma-informed freedive and respiratory education, as well as the life-saving education offered by certified freediving courses. I'm an action-orientated advocate for ocean restoration. You'll find me as much at home on a remote West Australian beach hauling marine debris out of a sand dune as you will on stage communicating to a crowd of people the importance of safe dive buddy practices.
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I'm proud to be the creative director of the Feel Alive, Freedive Initiative established in 2018, promoting both marine safety and freediving for mental health and the Mermantle project established in 2020. The Mermantle Project offers community mental health services free to men through the power of song with the Mermantle Men program, while the Mermantle Youth Program supports young men in developing freediving safety consciousness, self-leadership and healthy mental attitudes for life through the Feel Alive, Freedive program. Hear my talk here about Pathways to Ocean Health on World Ocean's Day. As a former non-executive director of Recfishwest, the states' peak body for recreational fishing, the vice chairperson of the WA Undersea Club Inc. and a panelist at the 2021 Blue Growth Economy Forum I have enjoyed continued growth in my public speaking skills, advocating for ocean restoration-innovation, marine safety, sustainable spearfishing and deepening humanities' ocean connectedness.
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I fund the Fremantle Underwater Film Festival through my work as a Master freedive instructor, mindfulness coach and pranayama (breathwork) teacher for the locally owned and operated, Blueback Freediving & Yoga.
By supporting my business, Blueback Freediving and Yoga you support my ability to continue running the Fremantle Underwater Film Festival - a grassroots festival that would not be such a success without the support of local businesses and not-for-profit marine conservation organizations, underwater cinematographers and the efforts of her local community volunteers who give generously of their time and resources to ensure the show runs effectively on the smell of an oily rag.
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I'd like to thank my supporters over the past 10 years and make a special thank you to both creative artist, Marion Vanhaecke (aka 'Marion le Crayon') who created our beautiful, original festival logo and underwater photographer, Chiara Bussini (of Carpe Diem Holistic) for her beautiful underwater freedive portraits used on this website.
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I BELIEVE EVERYONE HAS THE POWER
TO TAKE ACTION
TO IMPROVE OCEAN HEALTH.
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I created the FUFF in 2014 to build a more sustainable world by bringing ocean stories, marine science and the transformational nature of the human-water connection into your life in creative ways. As a creative artist and underwater photographer, I saw visual media as a powerful tool for helping to restore the health of the ocean of which we are all an integral part.
Our health and the health of the ocean are connected.
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To help out with a festival stall, volunteering, sponsorship or partnership with the not-for-profit Fremantle Underwater Film Festival (FUFF), please get in touch!
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The festival is entirely volunteer-run and cannot survive without the help and support of the community to make it possible.
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Donations to assist with the running of the Fremantle Underwater Film Festival (FUFF) are gratefully received and can be credited online on behalf of your business or organization.
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See FUFF contact info at the bottom of the page.
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FILMS
SCHEDULE 2024 / 2025
FREMANTLE HOMETOWN SCREENINGS
23 - 24 NOV 2024
6PM & 12NOON
OFFICIAL FREMANTLE SCREENINGS
Fremantle Sailing Club
Walyalup-Fremantle
SOUTH WEST WA TOUR
FEB 2025
6PM
SOUTH COAST SCREENINGS
BREMER BAY COMMUNITY CENTRE TBC
MARGARET RIVER TBC
NORTH WEST WA TOUR
APRIL 2025
6PM
NORTH WEST SCREENINGS
EXMOUTH TBC
GNARALOO TBC
BONDI NSW TOUR
MARCH 2025
6PM
BONDI SCREENINGS
BONDI TBC
PAST EVENTS
JAN 2018 / 2019
OFFICIAL SCREENING
Port Beach Garden Bar - Outdoor Cinema
44 Tydeman Road, North Fremantle
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25 FEB 2018
METRO SCREENING
Fremantle Fibonacci Centre
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SUMMER 2018 / 2019
SW WA SCREENINGS
Hopetoun Community
Albany Town Square
Margaret River Community Centre
Caves House, Yallingup
AUTUMN / WINTER 2018/2019
NW WA SCREENINGS
Whalebone Brewing Company, Exmouth
Bill's Bar, Coral Bay
29 NOV 2017
Australian Premiere
DOLPHIN MAN
6 DEC 2017
LAST PARADISE
13 DEC 2017
Australian Premiere
BLUEFIN
WA Premiere - Wed. 29 Nov. 2017 Port Beach Garden Bar Outdoor Cinema 44 Tydeman Road, North Fremantle, WA
Wed. 6 Dec. 2017 Port Beach Garden Bar Outdoor Cinema 44 Tydeman Road, North Fremantle, WA
WA Premiere - Wed. 13 Dec. 2017 Port Beach Garden Bar Outdoor Cinema 44 Tydeman Road, North Fremantle, WA
PAST SPONSORS & COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS
PROUD SUPPORTER OF
The FREMANTLE UNDERWATER FILM FESTIVAL (FUFF) is a proud supporter of the important marine biodiversity conservation work of the Maui & Hector's Dolphin Defenders NZ Inc. This community group is committed to saving the world's rarest marine dolphin from extinction, through education and action in New Zealand.
Thanks to the dedicated, big-hearted committee and volunteers of the Maui & Hector's Dolphin Defenders NZ Inc. for all their hard work to make the on-the-ground protection of the critically endangered, Maui Dolphin, a reality in New Zealand. I am so glad that ticket sales from festival shows can be put to good use, helping to conserve global marine biodiversity through the generous, hard-working nature of the Maui & Hector's Dolphin Defenders NZ Inc..
There are less than 63 adult individuals left of this marine dolphin. Without concerted conservation efforts this endemic New Zealand dolphin will sadly go extinct in our lifetimes!
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Please visit their website at Maui & Hectors Dolphin Defenders NZ Inc. and support their work to save Maui Dolphin.
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The FREMANTLE UNDERWATER FILM FESTIVAL (FUFF) is also a proud supporter of the important marine biodiversity conservation work of CAPE CONSERVATION GROUP.
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The 2019/2020 festival ticket funds were divested to both our long-term conservation collaborators, Maui & Hector's Dolphin Defenders NZ Inc., to enable them to continue their work for the critically endangered Maui Dolphin. In 2020/2021 we were able to expand our marine biodiversity conservation support closer to home, by providing our new community conservation collaborators CAPE CONSERVATION GROUP, with a donation to protect the critically endangered Green Sawfish (Pristis zijsron) in the Exmouth Gulf.
The CAPE CONSERVATION GROUP (CCG) is based in Exmouth, and is made up of ordinary people who love the North West Cape. Ningaloo is one of the world’s last great places and we want to protect it. CCG believe that preservation of the environment is really important. To do this CCG try to reduce the human impact on it and continue to be good stewards of the environment.
CAPE CONSERVATION GROUP is a volunteer, not-for-profit organization that is involved in protecting the terrestrial and marine environment of the North West Cape. The group has been active for 25 years now, and has been instrumental in some major projects and campaigns, like Save Ningaloo, Halt the Salt and Protect Ningaloo. Members are an eclectic mix of people from many walks of life, but are united by a passion for conservation. And each member brings different knowledge, skills and experiences to the job of promoting good environmental stewardship.
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CAPE CONSERVATION GROUP are always keen to welcome new members and believe that everyone has something to offer. If you care for the natural world and you’re keen to see it protected for the future, then join CAPE CONSERVATION GROUP at www.ccg.org.aU
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