Filmmakers

Emcee
Paul Cater Deaton

Paul Cater Deaton is an award-winning Writer, Producer, Director and Cinematographer who has filmed on six continents over a long, distinguished career. He is based in Galveston, and works all over the world.

Recent credits include Underwater Cinematographer for Wild Honduras with Nigel Marven (for NatGeo Wild), Field Producer and Director of Photography with The Discovery Channel, Director of Photography with HBO Documentaries, and Principal Underwater Cinematographer for The Amazing Race. Deaton was one of the original three filmmakers selected to produce short documentaries for Ocean in Google Earth.

As a filmmaker and photojournalist, his work has been broadcast and published worldwide. His article on the Nemo’s Garden underwater farming experiment in Italy will be published in the February, 2019 edition of ALERT DIVER Magazine, and his highly-rated TEDx Talk on Shark Preservation was highly rated.

PCD is a National Fellow in The Explorers Club, and a full, voting member of the Television Academy. Other memberships include Boston Sea Rovers, Historical Diving Society, Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago, and the Rotary Club of St. Thomas East (Board of Directors). A Rotarian since 1989, he was honored with a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship in 2004.

He is a NAUI instructor, and his certifications include Nitrox and rebreathers. He is certified in Global Shark Biodiversity, Biology and Conservation through Cornell University and the University of Queensland, Australia.

Alex Rose

Protected Waters:
Exploring Yellowstone

"Arctic Symphony" - from Elysium Artists for the Arctic

Alex Rose is the Science Editor for Ocean Geographic Magazine, and the Managing Editor for Ocean Geographic Explorers. Alex is also a professional photographer, violinist, Explorers Club Fellow, PADI Divemaster, and lover of all things aquatic. She founded ocean conservation company, Blue Ring, at the beginning of 2017 in an effort to create a new method of ocean conservation accessible to and inclusive of everyone. Her driving goal is to find ways to protect our world’s precious marine habitats through diving, writing, photography, education, and research.

Arica Hilton

I Flow Like Water

Arica Hilton is a visual artist, poet and global advocate who travels worldwide to enrich her life and the lives of others. She is based in Chicago, where she is the director of Hilton Asmus Contemporary, a gallery platform that she leverages to support artists and environmentalists who seek change for a better world. Whether she is trekking the South American countryside visiting cattle ranches, hiking the Himalayas with a Tibetan monk to experience the country’s culture or cage diving with great white sharks off Guadalupe Island, Hilton is driven to pursue first-hand encounters with people and their living environments.

Caitlin Bailey

Coral in Concert

Caitlin Bailey is a wildlife filmmaker and photographer as well as a National Geographic Explorer. Her passions are filming animal behavior and exploring the unknown parts of the world, particularly the ocean. She has done 13 expeditions aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. She has also sailed to the Arctic aboard the USCGC Healy, Antarctica aboard M/V Plancius, and the Gulf of Mexico aboard the E/V Nautilus. When not at sea, Caitlin lives in San Antonio, Texas. She has a Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology and a Master of Fine Arts in Science and Natural History Filmmaking. To see more of Caitlin’s work, please visit caitlinbailey.com.

Carlee Belt

Meditation on Microcosm

Dave and Kathy Monk

Dave & Kathy Monk are proud Columbia College alumni and owners of Chicago-based Brave New Pictures, a media production company that has taken them to all seven continents and nearly 80 countries to pursue stories about our fragile planet. Science team collaboration has been one of their passions; promoting projects featuring rhino and elephant anti-poaching efforts in Kenya, documenting sea ice and polar bear habitat loss in the arctic, investigating predator/prey relationships with jaguar populations in Brazil, and exploring one of the most mysterious aquatic ecosystems on the planet – subglacial lakes that exist under more than a half mile of Antarctic ice.

Their work has been translated into 48 languages and presented on networks including Discovery Channel, The History Channel, Science, BBC, Travel Channel International and National Geographic. Their exhibition media and interactives have been featured in over 40 museums and cultural institutions, including the Smithsonian, Henry Ford Museum, EPCOT, Pacific Science Center and Royal Tyrrell Museum. Of their many industry awards, the National Science Foundation Antarctica Service Medal is a personal favorite.

Jennifer Idol

Protected Waters:
Exploring Yellowstone

Jennifer Idol is a designer, author, and underwater photographer recognized as a PADI® Ambassadiver (2017 and 2018) and a member of the Ocean Artists Society. Her photography and articles have been published in periodicals such as DIVER, SCUBA Diving, and Alert Diver. She earned more than 29 certifications. She began a quest to document American waters in her book An American Immersion and became the first woman to dive in all 50 states.

Jim and Pat Stayer

Jim and Pat Stayer are explorers and well-known underwater filmmakers dedicated to promoting maritime history and remote dive destinations to audiences across North America. They have been diving for 45 years and share their love for shipwrecks and the underwater world through their 3 books and 30 DVDs. Recently they have been compiling an extensive video data base of animal behavior. The couple has been referred to as the one of the best animal behavior videographers, according to Ernie Brooks. Jim & Pat served as President and Secretary of the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council and were two of the founders of the Sanilac Shores Preserve. Together they ran a dive charter boat in the Great Lakes and discovered 8 shipwrecks. Jim & Pat are co-owners of Out of the Blue Productions. The Stayers were underwater cameramen for the History Channel and their footage has appeared on several major networks worldwide. They have directed several evening film festivals and are popular presenters across North America. Pat is a member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and Jim is a USCG Licensed Captain. Now retired, they have circled the globe over a dozen times producing documentaries about exotic dive destinations.

Joan Forsberg

Shipwrecks off Lakeshore Drive

Joan Forsberg is a well-known maritime historian, scuba diver, author, speaker, and underwater videographer, whose passion is to explore Great Lakes shipwrecks. Joan was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2010 and was a three-term Chairman of the Board. She has been the Chairman of the Shipwrecks and Underwater Archaeology seminar room at Chicago’s Our World – Underwater Show since 1996, and she is also Copy Editor for Wreck Diving Magazine and for the Journal of Diving History. With her husband, Cris Kohl, she is the co-author of seven books and co-producer of dozens of historical documentaries. In her three terms as President of the Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago (2008-2010), she spearheaded several significant maritime history projects, particularly the sinking of the historic ship named the Buccaneer as the newest shipwreck site off Chicago. A popular speaker, she has been interviewed on television on the History Channel, Discovery, CBS, WTTW, and was recently featured on TV’s Expedition Unknown.

Michele Hoffman Trotter

Microcosm

Michele Hoffman Trotter has been enthusiastically diving for over thirty years. She combines her background in science, art, and law as a faculty member of Columbia College, School of the Art Institute, and Roosevelt University and is the Creator/Director of the film project Microcosm. Michele's articles and award winning photography have appeared in international publications including Playboy.

Paul Cater Deaton

Nemo's Garden

The Flower Garden – Exploring the National Reef of Texas

Paul Cater Deaton is an award-winning Writer, Producer, Director and Cinematographer who has filmed on six continents over a long, distinguished career. He is based in Galveston, and works all over the world.

Recent credits include Underwater Cinematographer for Wild Honduras with Nigel Marven (for NatGeo Wild), Field Producer and Director of Photography with The Discovery Channel, Director of Photography with HBO Documentaries, and Principal Underwater Cinematographer for The Amazing Race. Deaton was one of the original three filmmakers selected to produce short documentaries for Ocean in Google Earth.

Rick Morris

The View Through my Mask

Rick Morris has been working in broadcast television and films since 1978, Starting in 2007 he spent 3 years as the documentary producer/videographer for the Census of Marine Life and the Encyclopedia of Life Projects. Rick has shot and produced programming for many of the major networks and cable channels as well as for non-profits and NGOs like The Nature Conservancy, The International Fund For Animal Welfare, The New England Aquarium, Oceana and The Conservation Law Foundation. Rick was the primary cameraman for the political commentary television show, “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.”

During his tenure with the Census of Marine Life Rick produced and contributed to more than a dozen films and productions for National Geographic, PBS, BBC and Canadian Broadcasting. Rick’s footage has been seen on programs from Nightline to “Late Night with David Letterman” and most recently on the network show, Sunday Mornings on CBS with Jane Pualey.

Steve Arnam (SCUBA Steve)

Mystery Wrecks

How to Save a Whale: Untangling a Humpback in Tonga

Steve has been diving our Water Planet for 43 years. He has led and been participating in diving expeditions, teaching and photographing world wide. With a B.S. in Marine Biology, a M.A. in Science Education and as a P.A.D.I. Master SCUBA Diver Trainer he has taught students from grammar school age through adults to appreciate our environment and understand connections between earth and water. As an avid "Hands on Conservationist" he is a volunteer for local and global environmental groups and recently joined the staff of Surfrider Foundation in Chicago to help bring awareness to local water quality issues. Act Locally Act Globally as we are all students of our Water Planet!

Bill Fisher

A Lateral Line

Sharks have fascinated both Joe Romeiro and Bill Fisher since childhood. They each learned to dive as a tool to experience the power and mystery of sharks first hand. After meeting on a shark diving expedition, they teamed up to form 333 Productions, and produce films that help aid in the conservation of sharks and the marine environment.

They want to use their experiences to help show others that many species of sharks are threatened, and some even face extinction. Joe and Bill portray sharks the way they see them, as beautiful and awe inspiring creatures that are an important and critical element of our oceans eco-system.

Evan Sherman

The Calling

Evan Sherman is the owner of Seasick Productions, a travel agency that specializes in international aquatic expeditions and underwater imaging. Based out of California, Seasick Productions provides turnkey dive packages and custom adventure itineraries around the world. Evan’s first dive with a camera, he fell in love with underwater videography. His second dive with a camera, he flooded it. He was 19 and had already learned a critical lesson about life as an underwater cameraman: passion fuels the artist, tools allow the artist to be. Evan later received his degree in Film and Electronic Media. Evan’s professional underwater credits include television networks, Fortune 500 companies and numerous entities within the dive industry.

In 2015 Evan released the film, Bali Close Up, which earned top honors at the World ShootOut Underwater Photo Grand Prix in Germany, Video of the Year at the ADEX Voice of the Ocean Competition in Singapore, and the Best of Show and Stan Waterman Legacy Award at the Turquoise Bay International Underwater Film Festival in Roatan. His subsequent film, The Not So Silent World, was equally recognized throughout the dive imaging community as it received Best in Show and the Stan Waterman Award at the Beneath the Sea International Imaging Competition, Best of Film Festival Award at the San Diego Undersea Film Exhibition, and first place at both the World ShootOut Underwater Photo Grand Prix in Germany and at the Turquoise Bay International Underwater Film Festival in Roatan.

He is an ambassador for SEA&SEA Underwater Imaging and Kraken Sports.

Favorite Quote: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― Augustine of Hippo

Howard and Michele Hall

Whale Song

Howard and Michele Hall are wildlife filmmakers who specialize in marine wildlife films. Working as a team, Howard and Michele have produced and directed many television films including a National Geographic Special, three episodes of the PBS series Nature and the five-hour PBS series Secrets of the Ocean Realm. Their television work has resulted in seven Emmy Awards.

The Halls are perhaps best known for their underwater IMAX® films. In 1994 Howard directed the first-ever underwater IMAX 3D feature, Into the Deep, and in 1998 he directed and Michele produced the IMAX film Island of the Sharks. The Halls returned to the IMAX 3D format in 2005 when Michele produced and Howard directed the Warner Bros./IMAX feature Deep Sea 3D. The award-winning sequel Under the Sea 3D followed in 2009. Of the five highest grossing 3D films produced by IMAX Corporation, two were directed by Howard. Into the Deep has earned box office receipts of over $75 million and Deep Sea 3D has earned over $97 million.

Howard and Michele have participated in many other underwater IMAX productions in various capacities, including MacGillivray Freeman Films’ IMAX film Coral Reef Adventure Journey to the South Pacific and Humpback Whales.

In 2011 Howard and Michele were named Divers of the Year at Beneath the Sea, and were also inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame. In 2013 they received the International Wildlife Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Marine Conservation & Media. In 2016 they were named as honorees of the 2016 Hans Hass Award. Both are recipients of the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences’ NOGI Award.

Julie Ouimet

Kerajaan - The Kingdom of Raja Ampat

Michel and Julie are explorers and underwater image makers who have traveled to some of the most remote areas of our planet. They are technical trimix divers, rebreather divers, the previous owners of an award-winning PADI 5-Star IDC center and accomplished dive training professionals.

Since 2014, Julie as an expedition videographer and filmmaker. Michel and Julie are both Fellows of the Explorers Club and Associate Members of the Boston Sea Rovers. They have twice been bestowed the honor of carrying the Explorers flag to Clipperton atoll and the findings of their 2 scientific missions to the atoll contributed to the creation of a Marine Protected Area. In 2018 they received the Explorers Club Citation of Merit in recognition of their "exemplary accomplishments in Field Science and Conservation". In 2019, Julie was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

Leandro Blanco

Nobody Loves you but Me

Born in Spain, Leandro is the most celebrated underwater music video maker in the world. In the year 2002, for the first time in the history of the World Festival of Underwater Pictures, Antibes, the judges awarded him a honorary award for his three videos “Ocean chronicles” “Shame on you” and “With the flow” for his creative expression and his commitment to the protection of the environment. In 2004 he was named Diver of the year in the United States at BTS (Beneath the Sea) in New York for his contribution to the art of film and in 2007 Greenpeace acknowledged Leandro Blanco the “Oceans Award” for his film “One for All”. The same film also won the “Celebrate the Sea 2007” Rolex Award of Excellence” for short documentary. Leandro’s passion for nature had already taken him all over the world. He had also written several pieces of music celebrating the beauty of the Amazon jungle and the vast desserts of Africa. His first short documentary got him first prize at the London film festival, and by 1990 he had already won several mayor awards, including “VIDEO FILM MAKER OF THE YEAR” BY THE BBC WILD LIFE MAGAZINE, for his documentary skills for his video There’s a place. In 1990 he made his first underwater documentary, which he wrote, narrated, edited, performed and wrote all the music. Leandro has received over 100 international awards for his documentaries, and his music scores have been acclaimed by magazines like BILLBOARD. He is also an honorary member of THE ROYAL PHOTOGRAFIC SOCIETY, for his photography in the video “JUST PASSING BY TOO”. In 1999 he received one of the most important underwater video awards at the World Underwater Pictures Festival Antibes for the film “Missing You – a music documentary in memory of Jacque Yves Cousteau. Since then he is the only person that has won this prestigious award in eight consecutive years. He was the co-producer of several documentaries on the Maldives with MICHAEL AW. He has also worked with Michael on the “24 hours beneath a Rainbow Sea” documentary produced for the National Geographic Channel broadcast worldwide.

Lee Burghard

Adventure is Calling

Lee Burghard is an award winning underwater filmmaker, Nauticam Ambassador, and works as an equipment specialist for Reef Photo & Video. He owns and operates Wild Shutter Imaging, a small production company based in South Florida and specializes as an underwater camera operator filming for documentary, short film, and commercial projects. HIs work has been featured on a variety programs including National Geographic, History Channel, Vice, and Discovery Channel.

His opinion is that this type of profession is all about continued growth and creativity. He looks at every new project and challenge as an opportunity to try something new, unique, and different with his work. His willingness to learn and drive to excel within this field has brought him to where he is today.

Michel Labrecque

Kerajaan - The Kingdom of Raja Ampat

Michel and Julie are explorers and underwater image makers who have traveled to some of the most remote areas of our planet. They are technical trimix divers, rebreather divers, the previous owners of an award-winning PADI 5-Star IDC center and accomplished dive training professionals.

Since 2014, Michel specializes in photojournalism. Michel and Julie are both Fellows of the Explorers Club and Associate Members of the Boston Sea Rovers. They have twice been bestowed the honor of carrying the Explorers flag to Clipperton atoll and the findings of their 2 scientific missions to the atoll contributed to the creation of a Marine Protected Area. In 2018 they received the Explorers Club Citation of Merit in recognition of their "exemplary accomplishments in Field Science and Conservation". In 2016, Michel was named a PADI Ambassador.

Phil Burghard

Adventure is Calling

My passion for underwater imaging started back in 2011 when I took my first camera underwater. I truly had no idea what I was doing, but I quickly fell in love and realized that this would change me forever. I’ve spent the last few years finishing my Bachelors in Accounting and capturing images every chance I could get. Once I realized I was getting involved in a respected, but extremely boring career, I decided to make a change and pursue what I wanted most out of life. In addition to working as a photographer, I’m an Equipment Specialist for Reef Photo & Video, and are thoroughly enjoying the career change.

My hope is that my photographs will inspire others to appreciate the wonder and beauty of the world around us.

Tim Rock

Yap, Micronesia

Tim Rock specializes in the imagery of the marine world and is a publisher, author, photographer and owner of a photo gallery on Guam in the western Pacific. He attended the journalism program at the University of Nebraska - Omaha (UNO) and has been a professional broadcast and print photojournalist for 30 years. In April 2017, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the UNO School of Communications. Tim was also a Guam Delegate for the Visual Arts (still photography and video) for the 2016 Pacific Festival of the Arts and he is a Guam Visitor's Bureau Hafa Adai Spirit Award winner. In his early years, his news photography appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN.

His career has covered the Western and Indo Pacific reporting on environmental and conservation issues. He won the prestigious Excellence in the Use of Photography from the Society of Publishers in Asia. His TV show Aquaquest Micronesia was an ACE award finalist. Rock has created work for National Geographic and has been published in National Geographic Publications, Smithsonian, GEO, Terre Sauvage and numerous top tier books and magazines. Rock's photographic work is represented by Getty Images Lonely Planet Collection, SeaPics, Polaris Images, WaterFrame, MantaRay Publishing and his own Double Blue Images, a Guam-based agency, and by other top photographic agents worldwide.

Songda Cai

Songda Cai has won numerous awards in various international photography competitions including the prestigious NHM Wildlife photographer of the year and Windland Smith Rice Nature's Best Photography . His works have been published in countless magazines , books, including the Smithsonian Museum in Washington USA, Natural History Museum in London ,Museum Koenig in Germany , Natuur Museum in Netherland and Venice, Italy. His Photographs have been reported by Chinese and International media channels.
Though many have indulged in black water photography, no one does it with more gusto than Cai. His lure is a down line affixed with several high-powered lights, a combined illumination of over 150,000 lumens. It is not uncommon for him to dive through the night to the wee hours of early morning. This dogged enthusiasm has paid off tremendously with awards and recognition by his peers. In his words, "Being able to explore the depths of the ocean is one of the most wonderful experiences in life."

Emcee
Paul Cater Deaton

Paul Cater Deaton is an award-winning Writer, Producer, Director and Cinematographer who has filmed on six continents over a long, distinguished career. He is based in Galveston, and works all over the world.

Read more

Presenting Filmmakers

We hope these films inspire you to love our waters.

Alex Rose

Arica Hilton

Caitlin Bailey

Carlee Belt

Dave and Kathy Monk

Jennifer Idol

Jim and Pat Stayer

Joan Forsberg

Michele Hoffman Trotter

Paul Cater Deaton

Rick Morris

Steve Arnam (SCUBA Steve)

Additional Filmmakers

Although these filmmakers couldn't join us in person, they are sending extroardinary work that we're screening during the break activities.

Bill Fisher

Evan Sherman

Howard and Michele Hall

Julie Ouimet

Leandro Blanco

Lee Burghard

Michel Labrecque

Phil Burghard

Tim Rock

Songda Cai

SUBMIT A FILM

Send us a message with your film name, length of film, link to film preview, and film description to submit a film to present at Wave Film Fest.

EmceePaul Cater Deaton

Paul Cater Deaton is an award-winning Writer, Producer, Director and Cinematographer who has filmed on six continents over a long, distinguished career. He is based in Galveston, and works all over the world.

Read more

Presenting Filmmakers

We hope these films inspire you to love our waters.

Alex Rose

Arica Hilton

Caitlin Bailey

Carlee Belt

Dave and Kathy Monk

Jennifer Idol

Jim and Pat Stayer

Joan Forsberg

Michele Hoffman Trotter

Paul Cater Deaton

Rick Morris

Steve Arnam (SCUBA Steve)

Additional Filmmakers

Although these filmmakers couldn't join us in person, they are sending extroardinary work that we're screening during the break activities.

Bill Fisher

Evan Sherman

Howard and Michele Hall

Julie Ouimet

Leandro Blanco

Lee Burghard

Michel Labrecque

Phil Burghard

Tim Rock

Songda Cai

SUBMIT A FILM

Send us a message with your film name, length of film, link to film preview, and film description to submit a film to present at Wave Film Fest.

Emcee
Paul Cater Deaton