FLIBS19: Inaugural Adrift Film Festival turns spotlight on crew

Oct 30, 2019 by Dorie Cox

Photos and story by Dorie Cox

Outdoors, under the stars near the beach in Fort Lauderdale, about 300 yacht captains and crew watched short films created by their peers during the inaugural Adrift Film Festival last week. Four winning films were chosen from among the finalists of the 140 videos submitted by 70 entrants.

Denzil Baynes said he always has a pen and paper ready to jot down a plot or a script idea, but the theme for his award-winning film actually appeared before him.

Named best long film, “Aurora Saves” documents the crew of the M/Y Aurora’s unexpected encounter with an entangled dolphin and two sea turtles while underway toward Mexico and California.

“It is important to make people aware of how quickly something can go awry at sea and of what a crew can pull off by utilizing their safety drills and how important they are when the captain says ‘Friday afternoon drills’ and eyes roll,” Baynes wrote in an email to The Triton. He was hired as first mate on Aurora and filled in as captain when Capt. Jake Roush took family leave. He has since left Aurora and taken command of an 80-foot Hatteras.

The saga’s theme is simple: “The long lines, fishing nets and sea snares capturing the wrong species and causing unnecessary devastation to these beautiful creatures.”

“My film is important to me because it tells a story starting off with preparation of going to sea,” he explained. “All crew know the importance of safety, and it’s vital that everyone pulls together to check off the lists as a team to take care of one another. The second part that made my film important was to create awareness.”

Baynes credits his crew for success in freeing the entangled animals. 

“I learned that no matter what happens, you can rely on your crew in a foreign situation,” he said. “Capt. Jake Roush didn’t think twice to investigate; Neill Burger didn’t think twice about donning safety gear with Dave Hernandez and jumping into the water; Kathleen, my wife, and Luna Swart for grabbing the cameras, as well as setting up safety gear and clearing obstructions.”

The hardest part about making this film? “Without a doubt, it’s finding the right soundtrack,” he wrote.

Bosun Holly Robertson won the wildcard category with “Bandol Wine Tasting.” She has worked on the 45m M/Y Golden Eagle, the 53m Amels M/Y Deniki and the 34m Feadship M/Y Kamino, and has learned to value crew relationships. She said her film is important to her in reminding herself and her crew of one of their favorite days off over the summer.

“We had previous crew meet current crew and we bumped into old friends and made new friends,” she wrote in an email. “The whole day was filled with more laughter than I can remember. … When time has passed, people have moved on to new jobs and countless exciting days off have followed, you can always return to that very day and feel the happiness that day brought.”

The hardest part of making her film? “The hardest part for me is definitely being patient enough to edit the clips without getting too excited and rushing it.”

Other winning filmmakers include Zakk Arion, who won most creative film with a rap video about life as a crew member. “Lil Yachter – Epaulets (The Yachtie Song)” blazed through dockwalking, challenges of sharing and after-hour diversions, then ended with a solo guitar riff. 

Shani Davies, second stew on M/Y Laurel, and crewmate Dylan Ross won best short film about the rescue of more than 50 dogs in the Bahamas with “Dorian Relief,” a film about the crew’s charity work after Hurricane Dorian.

Submissions were open to all content creators working on board, employed or between yachting jobs, according to founders Shelton Dupreez of Luxury Yacht Films and Randi Barry of Nautic Nomad. The screening was held outdoors at Park and Ocean in Fort Lauderdale’s Hugh Taylor Birch State Park on Oct. 23. Entry fees are to be donated to charities to benefit the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian and for ocean awareness.

Best long film finalists: Scott Crouch, Henro Devos, Luke Hammond, Dean Harrison, Shaun O’Callaghan, Nick Sleeman, Kyle Vollaers and Harry Gillmore.

Most creative film finalists: Bo Green, Shani Davies, Henro Devos, Leah Hayes, Shaun O’Callaghan, Matthew Oosthuizen, Dylan Ross and Kyle Vollares.

Best short film finalists: Dylan Barry, Byron Dobson, Stuart Heath Carlton Smith, Leo Mancusi-Ungaro, Harry Morris, Kyle Vollaers, Konner Webb and Sam Yates.

Wildcard finalists: Dylan Ross, Harry Tiger Doyle and Samuel Chia.

To view all videos, visit the Adrift Film Festival at www.adriftfilmfestival.com.

Original post: Oct. 24.

Outdoors, under the stars near the beach in Fort Lauderdale, about 200 yacht captains and crew watched short films created by their peers during the inaugural Adrift Film Festival. Four winning films were chosen from finalists picked out of 150 video submissions.

Denzil Baynes won for best long film with “Aurora Saves.” The film documented the crew of M/Y Aurora’s unexpected encounter with an entangled dolphin and two sea turtles while underway toward Mexico and California.

Zakk Arion won most creative film with a rap video about life as a crew member. “Lil Yachter – Epaulets (The Yachtie Song)” blazed through dockwalking, challenges of sharing, after-hour diversions and ended with a solo guitar riff. 

Shani Davies and Dylan Ross of M/Y Laurel won best short film with the crew’s charity work after Hurricane Dorian in “M/Y Laurel – Rescuing 50 dogs and delivering 300 tons of aid to Bahamas”. Holly Robertson took the wildcard category with “Bandol Wine Tasting.”

Submissions were open to all content creators working on board, employed or in-between yachting jobs, according to founders Shelton Dupreez of Luxury Yacht Films and Randi Barry of Nautic Nomad.

The screening was held outdoors at Park and Ocean in Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 23. Entry fees are to be donated to charities to benefit the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian and for ocean awareness.

For more, visit the Adrift Film Festival at www.adriftfilmfestival.com.

The following is a list of winners and finalists at Adrift Film Festival:

Winner for Best Long Film:
Denzil Baynes with “Aurora Saves” 

Finalists for Best Long Film: 

  • Scott Crouch
  • Henro Devos
  • Luke Hammond 
  • Dean Harrison
  • Shaun O’Callaghan
  • Nick Sleeman
  • Kyle Vollaers
  • Harry Gillmore

Winner for Most Creative Film:
Zakk Arion with “Lil Yachter – Epaulets (The Yachtie Song)”

Finalists for Most Creative Film:

  • Bo Green
  • Shani Davies
  • Henro Devos
  • Leah Hayes
  • Shaun O’Callaghan
  • Matthew Oosthuizen
  • Dylan Ross
  • Kyle Vollares

Winners for Best Short Film:
Shani Davies and Dylan Ross with “M/Y Laurel – Rescuing 50 dogs and delivering 300 tons of aid to Bahamas”

Finalists for Best Short Film:

  • Dylan Barry
  • Byron Dobson
  • Stuart Heath Carlton Smith
  • Leo Mancusi-Ungaro
  • Harry Morris
  • Kyle Vollaers
  • Konner Webb
  • Sam Yates

Winner for Wildcard:
Holly Robertson with “Bandol Wine Tasting”

Finalists for Wildcard:

  • Dylan Ross
  • Harry Tiger Doyle
  • Samuel Chia
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About Dorie Cox

Dorie Cox is a writer with Triton News.

View all posts by Dorie Cox →