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Dear Friends of the IOFF,

We here at the IOFF have made the difficult decision to postpone the festival currently scheduled for March 12th - 15th due to the current status of the COVID-19 virus. Film screenings at all three Bay Area theaters; Cowell Theater in Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, and the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael have been postponed until further notice.

Out of an abundance of caution, we feel that this is the most prudent choice at this time to ensure the health and safety of our patrons, filmmakers, partners and volunteers. Refunds have been issued to those who have purchased tickets thus far.

Our plan is to schedule the film festival at a later date in the year, so we can showcase the wonderful films that comprise our 2020 Official Selections as well as the submissions of the Student Film Competition. We will keep you posted on when that will be.

We are grateful for the overwhelming support and understanding we have received thus far, and we look forward to seeing you hopefully in the near future. Our oceans need us, and we need you.

In the meantime, please continue to support our mission by supporting the current Ocean Unite campaign of #Love30x30, an ongoing initiative to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030.

For our oceans,

Sincerely,
Ana Blanco
Executive Director

Dear Friends of the IOFF,

We invite you to join us in acknowledging and honoring the talented group of international students who have been selected as finalists of the IOFF 2020 Student Film Competition. After making the difficult decision to postpone the film festival, we decided to engage our audiences around the world and create an opportunity for everyone to learn about the great work of these talented, young students. Therefore we invite you to participate in our inaugural Global Online Audience Award!

It's fun and it's easy: The films are split into two categories - Middle School Finalists (3 films) and High School Finalists (10 films). Each film is 5 minutes or less and all of the films can be viewed on our website page at Student Film Competition. The voting ballot is listed on the website page as well.

Each category will have one winner based on the total number of votes received. The winners of each category will receive a $200 cash prize, a Jenga Ocean game, and an IOFF 2020 Student Film Competition Global Audience Award Certificate.

Voting will be open from Wednesday, March 25th at 12:00 PM until Sunday, April 5th at midnight (all times in Pacific Daylight Time). Only one vote per email will be accepted, and votes cannot be changed once submitted. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 6th.

So grab a pencil and a piece of paper and get ready to take some notes and have some fun! Enjoy the films and feel free to share the the Student Film Competition link with family and friends.

For Our Oceans,

Sincerely,
Ana Blanco
Executive Director