Filmmakers
Natasha Benjamin
Natasha is a marine scientist and filmmaker dedicated to protecting our oceans. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has spent over two decades working at the intersection of ocean conservation, policy, and communications. With a deep connection to the sea as a diver, surfer, and lifelong ocean lover, Natasha has built her career around advocating for ocean health and mobilizing action.
As a producer for the Peabody Award–winning Brick City TV, she leverages the power of storytelling to bring critical ocean stories to life — using film to raise awareness of the challenges facing our blue planet and inspire meaningful change.
Natasha also serves as Associate Director of Blue Frontier, where she works at the intersection of ocean policy, public awareness, and education. She is helping lead a growing global kelp movement by elevating kelp forests in climate and biodiversity policy conversations, advancing science-based solutions, and building broader public understanding around the urgent need to protect and restore these critical ecosystems.
She is also the producer and host of the Rising Tide Ocean Podcast, amplifying voices across science, storytelling, and ocean solutions.
Ana Blanco
Ana is the Executive Director of the International Ocean Film Festival leading a large group of volunteers to produce a four-day flagship event since 2011. Now the largest ocean film festival in the world, the festival showcases independent films from around the globe, inspiring people to become better ocean stewards. During her tenure Ana created two key pillars of the festival to advance the education of ocean conservation: the Student Film Competition and the Traveling Program.
Ana’s passion for the ocean stems from being an avid sailor and certified scuba diver, as well as having grown up along the Pacific Coast in Lima, Peru. She has served as a jurist on international panels for major film festivals such as JacksonWild, FICMA in Barcelona, Spain, CINEMARE in Kiel, Germany, and Maremostra in Palma, Mallorca. Ana has a B.S. Degree in Economics from the University of Illinois.
Advisory Board
Andrea Torrice, Filmmaker, Torrice Productions
April Bucksbaum, Vice President, Baum Foundation
David Helvarg, Executive Director & Author, Blue Frontier
Jan Freiwald, Executive Director, Reef Check Foundation
Jan Livingston & Marsh Mokhtari, Co-Founders, Grey Whale Gin
Josh 'Bones' Murphy, Filmmaker, Liar and Thieves
Kassia Meador, Founder, KASSIA + SURF
Maria Brown, Superintendent, Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries
Maria Finn, Producer, Writer & Chef, Flora & Fungi Adventures
Marianna Leuschel & Josie Iselin, Co-Directors of Above/Below
Max Bello, Policy Advisor, Mission Blue
Michael Stewart, Co-Founder/Director, Sea Trees & Sustainable Surf
Mike Long, Director, Parley For The Ocean
Sheila Semans, Executive Director, Noyo Center for Marine Science