The Festival International du Film Maritime, d'Exploration et d'Environnement is a film festival held annually in the Palais Neptune, Palais des Congrès, in Toulon, France."Toulon Festival international du film maritime à Toulon : le 40e rugissant"
''Var Matin'', 26 September 2008 The festival concentrates on exploration, the environment and knowledge of the sea and under the sea. It includes competitions for photographs and films. It was the first festival of its type and inspired others, notably the

San Francisco Ocean Film Festival The International Ocean Film Festival (IOFF), formerly the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, is a film festival held in San Francisco, CA, that features films about marine life, the ocean, coastal cultures and conservation. The 2013 event took ...

in the USA.

Founder

The festival was founded by Jacques-Henri Baixe, who began his career as a navy doctor. He practised underwater diving and later became a doctor specialising in diving medicine. He was also an avid collector of films: he created the ''Cinémathèque Mondiale de la Mer'' (World Film Library of the Sea). He produced and directed films himself, as well as television broadcasts. He died in 2001.

History

The first Festival was held in 1954 in the Maison de la Chimie in Paris. The second Festival was held in San Diego in 1957. In subsequent years, it alternated between the Gaumont Palace Cinema in Toulon, the Salle Pleyel in Paris,

Port Grimaud Port Grimaud is a seaside town that forms part of the commune of Grimaud in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is located seven km () (four mi ()) west of Saint-Tropez and seven km () southwest ...

near

St-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Alp ...

, the Centre Culturel de Châteauvallon near Toulon, the Opéra Municipal de Toulon, and finally, since its construction in 1991, the Palais Neptune at the Palais des Congrès de Toulon.

References

External links

* Documentary film festivals in France Seafaring films {{Europe-film-festival-stub