The results are in for the People’s Choice Award from the 2019 Ocean Film Festival UK & Ireland tour, and it’s a triumph for unlikely adventurers.
Manry at Sea, telling the uplifting story of unassuming copy editor Robert Manry, who in 1965 sailed solo across the Atlantic in a tiny boat called Tinkerbelle, came out as the audience favourite with 48.7% of the vote, with Surfer Dan, starring Dan Schetter catching waves on freezing, inland Lake Superior in Michigan, taking second on 34.7%.
“Both of these heart-warming films show that you don’t need to be sporty, glamorous or rich to have an amazing, life-changing adventure or passion, which is why they stole the hearts of our audiences,” says tour director Nell Teasdale.
“Robert Manry was known as the guy who was ‘always in the corner’ at his office, and didn’t socialise much. Dan Schetter is a quirky, beardy, recovering alcoholic who couldn’t be further from the bronzed, Hawaiian surfer dude stereotype. They both capture the essence of the Ocean Film Festival, and indeed all of the film festivals in the Snowline Media fold – that adventure is out there for anyone, as long as you dare to follow your dreams.”
The Ocean Film Festival has toured the UK & Ireland for the past six years, visiting 35 venues in 2019, and the People’s Choice Award is voted for by members of the audience following the shows. The film programme for the 2020 Ocean Film Festival tour will be announced in early summer. See www.oceanfilmfestival.co.uk.
