Filmmaker Marshal Case. (Joe Strand)

East Hampton - The Second Annual Hamptons Wildlife Conservation Film Festival was held the week of September 21 through September 25 in East Hampton and Sag Harbor. The film festival opened on Wednesday, September 21 at the Ross School with screenings of selected films from the 2010 event, and moved to Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor on Friday.

A reception and book signing with filmmakers Jon Bowermaster, Marshal Case, Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson was held on Saturday, September 24, with films running from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Many filmmakers were in attendance at Saturday's reception, including Celine Cousteau, granddaugher of the famous Jacques Cousteau, Bob Simon of "60 Minutes" (CBS), film festival founder Christopher Gervais, and filmmaker Marshal Case.

The film festival continued on Sunday as well from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The film schedule included 65 international documentary films from more than 25 countries screened during the five day event, including world premieres, along with guest filmmakers and conservationists who spoke throughout the festival.

Wildlife documentary filmmakers attended from around the globe, including Cousteau from France, Case of Trust for Wildlife, Charles Fasano from Hawaii, Kevin Bachar from Pangolin Pictures, Erin Calmes from Keta Films, Marjolein Duermeiyer from the Nature Conservation Films in the Netherlands, Jon Bowermaster from Ocean 8 Films, Joe Romeiro from 333 Productions, Kathleen Frith from the Harvard School of Medicine, Peter McBride from Colorado, and Nick Coburn Phillips from Malaysia, among others.

Supporter and art gallery owner Romany Kramoris. (Joe Strand)

The Hamptons Wildlife Conservation Film Festival hopes to become one of the premiere film events on the East Coast, and in particular has succeeded in bringing awareness to the East End. Gervais stated "This festival allows us to bring nature awareness and opportunities closer to where we live so that conservation, which applies to everyone's life, is made real. Gervais went on to advise, "We have more films this year, more celebrities, and certainly more opportunities to educate everyone in wildlife conservation. The support from the local community, and of course the participating filmmakers and sponsors, [including Hamptons.com], makes it evident that this Festival will grow and grow."

Simon relayed "Conservation applies to all of us, from the air we breathe, to the water we drink, and our natural resources are being depleted faster and faster each year. I've been involved for more than 10 years, and Americans, just like the rest of the world, need to get involved in any way possible. We need to protect our animals and their ecosystems from the environment, poachers and profiteers."

Paul Stoutenburgh, a filmmaker with three films in the festival, revealed that "I love working with the Nature Conservancy, as the support they offer fillmmakers is tremendous and valuable."


Supporter and gallery owner Romany Kramoris, who arranged with local artists for work to be on display in the lobby of Bay Street Theatre, advised, "All the artwork has an animal theme, and this year five local artists participated."

On Saturday, Cousteau's "Amazon Promise" followed a team of doctors volunteering with the non-profit Amazon Promise to provide medical attention in remote villages inside the Peruvian Amazon, with founder Patty Webster. Case's film, "After the Gulf Oil Spill: Wildlife and Habitats in Jeopardy" takes a stern look at the horrific aftermath of the oil spill in Louisiana, and Simon's 10-minute short film discussed his news work in Kenya on the poisoning of lions from the pesticide Furadan. The subsequent Q&A with Cousteau, Case, Simon and Gervais was as sobering as it was informative - the time for action and involvement is now. Numerous other films were shown during the day on Saturday as well.

The Hamptons Wildlife Conservation Film Festival is organized by resident volunteers, including Kramoris, Stoutenburgh, Charlot Taylor, Debbie Klughers, Bonnie Grice, Jewel Fine Morris, Brandon Holloman, and Marie Wilkinson, among others.

All proceeds from the festival will be donated to The Nature Conservancy's Long Island Chapter and the Celine Cousteau Foundation from ticket sales at the Bay Street Theater.