A spectacular blend of some of the scuba diving industry's best and biggest names in photography and underwater adventure were featured at the 6th annual Cayman Islands International Underwater Film Festival on Friday, January 30, 2009 at the Harquail Theatre. Scuba enthusiasts and anyone loving an audio/video feast of beautiful imagery were treated to a fantastic display of photographic talents and stories from around the globe second to none. The Film Festival, organized by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), was the second event in a high profile week for scuba divers around the world, which kicked off with the annual Induction Ceremony for the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame which was held at Pedro St. James the evening before.

Each presenter at the Film Festival is a Scuba Diving Hall of Fame Inductee. Howard Rosenstein kicked off the evening with a fascinating presentation highlighting his experiences in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean Atolls, followed by Casey Smith speaking on behalf of his father, the late Larry Smith, showing a film featuring Larry muck diving in Indonesia and New Guinea. Renowned underwater photographer, Geri Murphy, presented an Al Gidding's classic film entitled "Silent Warrior," about divers searching for the famous I-169 submarine. Dr. Alex Mustard, a previous Film Festival presenter and guaranteed crowd pleaser, ended with a slide show highlighting the role of the underwater photographer.

The evening also included a fundraising silent auction prior to the festival and during the intermission. A great range of items were available on auction including artwork, hotel, diving, restaurant and other exciting certificates donated by CITA members with proceeds benefitting CITA marine conservation efforts.

"Eyes Wide / Shut"
Best of Cayman Amateur Underwater Digital Photo Competition

As a new component of the Underwater Film Festival, amateur photographers were invited to submit underwater images that best depict Cayman. The "Eyes Wide Shut" photo competition, with categories of "Images with Strong Eye Contact" and "Images with No Eye Contact," attracted nearly 200 entries! All of the photos submitted were shown during a slide show, and Cathy Church's Underwater Photo Centre printed and mounted all of the winning photos for display at the event.

Prizes were generously donated by Cayman Aggressor for first place in both categories, and Rum Point Restaurant for second place. Celebrity judges Cathy Church and Geri Murphy announced the winners. "Choosing the winners was a difficult decision as all of the photos submitted were winners in their own right," said Ms. Church. "There is an incredible amount of talent on this Island," she continued. CITA is pleased to announce that the Photo Competition will become an annual event along with the Film Festival and looks forward to hosting it again next year.

Winners:

"Images with Strong Eye Contact"

• First Place - Patrick Weir

  • Second Place - Cynthia Abgarian

  • Honorable Mention - Jack Cudworth, Michael Brown, Mike Johnston, Chris Alpers, Jonathon Dietz, Nancy Mowbray-Cook, J. Syson, Ash McKnoght, Dave McKay, Hugo Segura, Cynthia Abgarian, and Younghwa Lee. **
    "Images with No Eye Contact"**

  • First Place - Mike Johnston

  • Second Place - Jonathon Dietz
  • Honorable Mention - Gary Redfern, Susan Kerr, Jack Cudworth, Miklos Ujhelyi, Jonathon Dietz, and David Colli.

The Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) was formed in March 2001, through an amalgamation of the Cayman Tourism Alliance and the Cayman Islands Hotel and Condominium Association. The CITA represents tourism businesses from all sectors, including cruise, hotels, condominiums, watersports operators, restaurants, attractions, airlines, tourism transport providers and allied tourism service providers. The CITA represents over 200 active and allied members and is active in the areas of industry and government relations, marketing and events, industry development and membership services.