Join the Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary at the Great Lakes Gala where film lovers and creators gather to celebrate the art of storytelling. The Great Lakes Gala promises a memorable evening of celebration, inspiration, and community, marking the start of the weekend festival in Alpena dedicated to the beauty and preservation of our water landscapes.
Enjoy an evening of films intertwined with delicious local food and drinks (drink tickets can be purchased separately during the event at the Sanctuary Gift Store, this ticket includes food and the films).
After the films, there will be a live discussion with some of the filmmakers!
NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary hosts the Thunder Bay International Film Festival in partnership with the International Ocean Film Festival, the premier global platform for ocean literacy and education through independent film.
Featured Films:
Water is Life, Richard Mack (USA) 15 min
A portion of a longer documentary that is still in production, Water Is Life revolves around the perspective of indigenous people for whom the Great Lakes are a crucial living entity in all of our lives. Central to Water Is Life is an interview with Frank Ettawageshik, a former Executive Director of the United Tribes of Michigan and a member of the Little Traverse Bans of Chippewa and Odawa Indians. He was a Native American delegate in the original negotiations of the Great Lakes Compact whose personal story begins and ends on the shore of Little Traverse Bay at the north end of Lake Michigan. His message is one of hope and his faith that the youth of today are both willing and able to work tirelessly for the sustainability of a healthy Great Lakes environment.
Above Sinai, Kylie Zarmati (USA) 13 min
The stunning landscape where the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba meet the desert mountains is home to the small Egyptian town of Dahab. Here, young Egyptian woman Sarah Sadek, originally from Cairo, living among the Bedouin tribes soars over the landscape as a professional kiteboarder. She overcomes challenges faced as a woman in the sport and becomes a successful and inspiring competitor.
In the summer of 2025 over 70 swimmers swam 411 miles from the site of the wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald to Detroit, completing the journey of the freighter's never-met destination on November 10th, 1975. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society had cameras on support boats and on shore for the entire 2025 swimmers' adventure. While the documentary is still in production, this is a small view of what you’ll see coming out in 2026.
The Weight: Coming up for Air, Kyle Maddux - Lawrence (USA) 12 min*
After years of self-imposed isolation, combat medic Brian carries the weight of believing he failed when it mattered most. When an email about a challenging scuba diving program crosses his desk, he's ready to back out before he even begins. But at Thunder Bay, surrounded by fellow veterans who share his fears and his pain, Brian discovers something unexpected beneath the cold waters of Lake Huron: the possibility of trust, connection, and being present again. Through four certification dives on historic shipwrecks, he learns that healing isn't a solitary journey—it's built one moment at a time.
Sanctuary: Beneath the Surface, Kyle Maddux - Lawrence (USA) 7 min*
When a group of combat veterans arrives at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Michigan, they're stepping far outside their comfort zones. Through Warfighter SCUBA, these veterans—many dealing with isolation, fear, and the weight of their service—learn to dive in the Thunder Bay while connecting with NOAA staff who believe natural resources can heal. What begins as a week of diving training becomes something far more profound: a story about community, purpose, and the unexpected ways that protecting our waters can help us protect each other. As the veterans confront their fears beneath the surface, they discover that sometimes the greatest adventures lie in doing the things that scare us most.
Intermission
Dinosaur Fish, Jason Whalen and Chris Zuker (USA) 22 min*
The Lake Sturgeon has existed virtually unchanged for more than 130 million years. It survived a meteor impact and outlived the dinosaurs but we’ve found out it couldn’t survive in the face of human development. With only 1% remaining in the Great Lakes, conservationists in Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay are working to bring this iconic species back.
The Mother of Diamonds: Kimberlite, Alexander Benedik (Austria) 5 min
Filmed in Eastern Greenland (part of an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark) free diver Anna von Bötticher ventures beneath the Arctic ice in search of Kimberlite— a rare igneous rock that contains diamonds and forms in vertical structures known as Kimberlite Pipes. This visually intriguing film offers a glimpse into the frozen depths.
Immersive, Rohan Thomas (UK) 23 min
Oceanographers descend 8,000 feet to the bottom of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge to study hydrothermal vents. Life as we understand it should not exist here – within perpetual darkness, engulfed in toxic minerals, and under extreme heat and pressure. And yet it does. An ancient biosphere thrives with otherworldly organisms that offer extraordinary clues into the origin of life on Earth and beyond.
Stay after for a live discussion!
*Filmmaker or representative expected for Q&A
Date & Time
Fri, Jan 23, 2026 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Venue Details
Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center
500 West Fletcher Street Alpena, Michigan 49707
Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Established in 2010 by local community leaders, the Friends of TBNMS is a nonprofit 501(c)3. Its founders envisioned the significant opportunity the sanctuary offered for protecting our Great Lakes and their rich maritime history, hands-on educational experiences for area students, and local economic development. Today, that vision has become a reality with the Friends of TBNMS sharing a close working relationship with the sanctuary staff, playing a critical role in funding the sanctuary’s education programs, community outreach efforts, unique museum experiences, and research.
