Surfrider Foundation Australia – the not-for-profit agency dedicated to the protection of Australia’s oceans – has launched a series of film events across Australia’s east coast to raise support for their campaign to Save The Southern Sea from fossil fuel exploration. Their 12th stop will be at Byron Community Theatre on 30 November.
The event will see the Tour D’ Ice Cream team, complete with their now iconic, retrofitted, vegetable-powered vintage fire truck, stop by for an evening of activism and ice cream. Each stop will involve a screening of a brand new surf film Southern Blast by award-winning director Matty Hannon, which features iconic Australian free-surfer Torren Martyn, interviews with environmental marine consultants such as Annie Ford, and an original soundtrack including the likes of Australian musicians Kim Churchill and Manyuung. The film was shot on location in the Southern Ocean – the area which Surfrider is seeking to protect through this campaign.
The campaign aims to put pressure on the government to cancel a proposed seismic blasting permit searching for gas across the coastlines of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. The joint venture between seismic survey companies TGS and SLB/Schlumberger is one of the largest blasting plans the world has ever seen.
The team will be attracting public attention by offering public screenings of Southern Blast that celebrates the beauty of Australia’s coastlines and the potential devastating impacts of fossil fuel exploration.
Surfrider Campaign Director and film producer Drew McPherson explains: ‘The film was shot over several months in coastal communities across Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia. The film takes us to the heart of communities that are at risk of losing their local cultures, livelihoods and marine ecosystems from the planned blasting and drilling. It highlights the unique and special connection each and every one of us has with the ocean, how we rely upon it, and the threats that it’s facing from the expansion of the fossil fuel industry.’
The tour will be led by a vegetable-powered vintage fire truck that has been hand retrofitted by beach clean-up organisation Emu Parade, run by Roland Davies. Davies and his fire truck will be setting up at the cinema, encouraging residents to take action in exchange for a scoop of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The action will be simple, as Ben & Jerry’s have created a digital petition which allows local residents and Australians everywhere to automatically send a letter to their local politician calling for the blasting permits to be revoked – eliminating the risks of oil and toxin spills, ocean fires and widespread ocean pollution.
Activism Manager at Ben & Jerry’s, Steph Curley, says the company believes it’s worth fighting for climate justice – we must be stopping all new fossil fuel projects, and urgently transitioning to renewable energy.
This screening is at 5.30pm on Thursday, 30 November at Byron Theatre.
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