On the theme : "The future of the Calanques Reserve"

With : Didier RÉAULT, Delegate councilor for the Sea, City of Marseilles ; Pr Nardo VICENTE, President of Honour of the 38th Festival mondial de l’image sous-Marine et Josep CAPELLA HEREU, Expert on public tourist management (Estartit, Spain).
The project of the Reserve of the Calanques of Marseilles will be presented. The forum will be illustrated by films including "Les 20 ans de l’aire protégée des îles Medes – Estartit (Spain) The 20 years of the Medes Islands Protected Area.

Presented by Daniel Mercier, Founder of the Festival mondial de l’image sous-marine and Kazunori Togashi, vice-president of the association Ganbalo. The association Ganbalo and the Festival mondial de l’image sous-marine come together to offer help to the fishing village of Kessennuma devastated by the tsunami of 11 March 2011.

"For many years, the Festival mondial de l’image sous-marine has developped friendship links with Japanese divers. We keep in our memory the disaster which occurred in March 2011 and to reconcile this with nature we present a film produced by Japanese Television (NHK) which won the Palme d’Or at the 2006 Festival, "River of the Sun" having as a theme the natural riches of the Amazon River. An exceptional film." (Daniel Mercier, General delegate, Founder of the Festival)

A concert in three acts of Japanese music will punctuate the evening:
•Koto (traditional Japanese instrument, sometimes called the Japanese harp) and flute by Takae Bouyssi-Kanaoka and Claire Abram
•Soprano Yukimi Yamamoto, music of Michuru Oshima
•Bamboo Orchestra Trio

The evening films :

The Orchestra in Hot Air Balloon (6’, musical)
THOUZEAU Christine, ÔSHIMA Michiru, Ganbalo Nippon (France/Japon)
This film, based on a true story, is dedicated to the victims and principally the children who survived the tsunami of 11 mars 2011. It describes the wanderings of a cat alone on a raft of fortune during the tsunami which ravaged the coast of Japan.
Produced within the Ganbalo Nippon Program, this production is the result of a collaboration between Christine Thouzeau, a French artist and illustrator, and Michiru Ôshima, celebrated composer of music for video games (ICO, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess...).

Equator, river of the sun (52’, French language)
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC PRIZE, GOLD PRIZE 2006, OKABE Satoshi, NHK, Japan
The largest rainforest on Earth, expanding on the Equator in Amazon, is the cradle for the most abundant biota in the world that has been evolving for eon. The mighty Amazon River is the lifeblood of the jungle. For half a year, freshwater fish flourish in floodwaters that rise among the trees and then, as the waters retreat, these fish face a six-month drought. The enduring Amazon is both a time capsule for ancient animals and a hothouse for the evolution of new species.

Wild Japan: The wonders of abundant waters (58’, Japanese with English sub-titles)
ADACHI Yasuhiro, KITAMURA Keishiro, NHK, Japan
A film which explores the secrets of the Japanese archipelago, miracle of nature. Recent studies have shown that Japanese waters are the richest in their biodiversity in the world with about 34 000 species, representing 15% of the world's marine life. This richness is the result of particular geological conditions: the meeting of warm and cold oceanic currents generating a veritable underwater conveyor belt carrying the nutrients of Japan to Russia. These waters offer spectacular images. The production crew worked for three years to be able to invite us to share these riches.