Steve Hathaway Seaweek Mangawhai event offers rare ocean film insights

International award-winning underwater photographer and videographer Steve Hathaway will headline a Seaweek event in Mangawhai on March 10. Photo / Ingrid Visser

Internationally acclaimed marine photographer and film-maker Steve Hathaway will be a keynote speaker at this year’s Seaweek event, hosted by Sustainable Kaipara.

Hathaway won a Bafta in 2018 for Best Photography (Factual) for Blue Planet II – One Ocean.

His work has also featured in Disney’s Emmy-winning Secrets of the Whales, National Geographic and Blackfish.

Seaweek, which runs from February 28 to March 10, is a nationwide, community-led initiative celebrating the wonders of the ocean and how people’s lives are connected to it.

Organisers say Seaweek “inspires individuals, schools, and communities through fun, engaging and accessible experiences to connect with the ocean and each other and to take action to protect it for future generations”.

While the main celebration takes place in early March each year, additional events and communications continue throughout the year across collaborating groups and participants.

Stories from the Sea – An Evening with Steve Hathaway will be held at the Mangawhai Golf Club, 6pm-8pm on Tuesday, March 10.

The event will include behind-the-scenes insights from Hathaway’s filming of some of the world’s most iconic ocean documentaries, with footage from his developing documentary on the marlin – one of the ocean’s most powerful and culturally significant species.

Hathaway says he is passionate about bringing New Zealand’s underwater story into the wider Kiwi domain.

Entry is by donation. Tickets are available via Sustainable Kaipara’s Facebook page.

Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.