2025 Global Guardian Award - Captain Paul Watson
Blue Water Film Festival (BWFF) presented by the Blue Water Institute announces its honorees to Captain Paul Watson with the Global Guardian Award, which is presented to an industry leader whose contributions to the innovation of marine science & entertainment has changed the industry for the better. Captain Paul Watson, a founding member of Greenpeace, left in 1977 to establish the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which he led until 2023 before co-founding the Captain Paul Watson Foundation. A master mariner, author, and lifelong environmentalist, he has received numerous honors, including the Amazon Peace Prize (2007) and the Jules Verne Award (2012). Watson continues to his fight for marine conservation through his foundation.
Past honorees include Dr, Maude Barlow (UN Water Activist), Dr. Jane Goodall (Jane Goodall Institute), Yvon Chouinard (Founder, Patagonia), Dr. Sylvia Earle (Queen of the Sea), and Valerie Taylor (Queen of the Sharks). The award will be presented Sunday, March 22nd, at UCSD Park & Market Street.
Each year, Blue Water Film Festival is proud an industry leader whose contributions to the innovation of marine science & entertainment has changed the industry for the better and who has used their voices for positive social change. We are proud to highlight the accomplishments of these Environmental Champions, as part of our mission to raise the profile of the oceans and the environment.
BWFF is proud to support filmmakers with a variety of film awards and industry technology prizes. Check out our award-winning films!
GRAND JURY BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Turtle Walker
Presented by Tara Malaney
GRAND JURY BEST SHORT FILM
Wild City
Presented by Roni Avni
GRAND JURY BEST FEATURE ANIMATED FILM
Aqua Team Sea Adventure Part II
Presented by Riccardo Mazzoli
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sounds of the Ocean
Presented by Howard Hall
BEST SCIENCE FILM
Ocean Watch – A Story of Deep Sea Exploration
Presented by Leo Richards
PRODUCERS VISION AWARD
Unearth
Presented by Hunter Nolan
DIRECTOR’S VISION AWARD
Turtle Walker
Presented by Tara Malaney
PAST WINNERS
GRAND JURY BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
2022 The Witness is A Whale
2021 Playing With Sharks
2020 Story of Plastics
GRAND JURY BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
2022 The Fish & The Flame
2021 Game Changers
2020 Ripple Effect
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
2022 Soul of the Ocean, Howard Hall
2021 Mother of the Sea
PRODUCERS VISION
2022 Cost of Free Water, Amelie Lambert Bouchard and Elodie Pollet
2021 Playing with Sharks, Bettina Dalton
DIRECTOR’S VISION
2022 A Witness is a Whale, Cheryl & Nick Dean
2021 Entangled, David Abel
AUDIENCE
2020 Murder at Sea, Best Short
2020 Fish & Men, Best Feature
OCEAN YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AWARD
2021 – NOAA – Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
OCEAN HERO AWARD
2020 Turtle Journey
Trailers
2020
2021
2022