The 13th edition of Sublimage festival, dedicated to the marine world, opened on 24 August. On the program: photo and video competition, exhibitions, screenings and conferences in order to “raise awareness of the wonders of our ocean”, as recalled by Joseph Manauté, member of the government of New Caledonia, partner of the event.

The works presented were evaluated by the jury according to criteria of artistic and technical qualities. The ranking awards the best film prizes in the following categories: Slide Show, Clip and Short Film. On the photo side, 5 categories have been proposed: Wide Angle, Macro, Freshwater, Black and White and Thematic series.

About the Shot.

Smiling ray. Stratoni is a small seaside village on the Halkidiki peninsula. Αlthough it sound idyllic in reality it is not because the presence of a gold mining farm has created many problems in the area. One of them is the high concentrations of arsenic, copper, zinc, lead in the sea.  Nevertheless, the seabed looks ideal for the “Raja radula” rays. You can find them at 15-20 meters on a sandy bottom where they feed on small crustaceans. When they swim, their underside looks like a smiling face, a face that definitely makes your mood whenever you photograph it!

About the Festival.

Having become an unmissable event over the years, the international underwater image festival, called “Sublimage”, took up residence until August 27 in Nouméa. Two venues for an event: the town hall’s hall of honor for exhibitions and conferences, and the Rex cinema room for documentary film screenings. A rich program that gives pride of place to the educational component with many sessions reserved for schoolchildren. More than 500 students from 15 establishments, will benefit from scientific and environmental workshops run by associations. Objective: to sensitize the young public to the fragility of the marine ecosystem and its marvelous beauty, a subject so important for these small inhabitants of the Pacific.