May 7, 2009
by Toni Houston

On Saturday, 2nd May 2009, Coral Sea Dreaming - Awaken had its much anticipated world first public screening at the Lounge Cinema in the Arts Factory, Byron Bay, Australia. As part of the Byron Underwater Festival 2009, it was a highly successful and enjoyable event and a fitting preview of David Hannan's great upcoming masterpiece about the coral reef environment.

Professor Peter Harrison - Director of Marine Studies at Southern Cross University - opened the evening with a moving speech giving tribute to David's masterful cinematography and dedication to reef conservation, and also highlighting the major threats facing the coral environs.

The film's core team were all in attendance, including David Hannan (Cinematographer/Producer/Editor), Tania Rose (Composer), Lucy Trippett (Co-producer), Peter Simon (Post Producer), Sam Hannan (Sound Designer) and Toni Houston (Script Writer). It was an occasion to celebrate years of dedication in completing the project and a moment to reflect on what still lies ahead in getting the film into general release during 2009 and beyond.

David then took to the stage, with a short overview of his history on the reef, and the passion that lies behind the making of his beautiful film. The cinema was packed, and the audience riveted to the screen, as the 84 minute program unfolded before them. Iconic scenes of the reef - framed and edited with a superb sense of space, colour, behaviour and timing - unfurled seamlessly to Tania's haunting music score.

Many of these scenes had never been filmed before. Many will never be filmed again. It's a mesmerizing and poignant celebration of one of the planet's great natural wonders, and the hush in the cinema was barely broken.

As the credits rolled, the loud and lingering applause said it all. Coral Sea Dreaming - Awaken is a world-class presentation which will 'wow' the world even more than the now classic original. David Hannan can certainly take a deep bow, and know that his important messages about reef beauty and fragility will reach a huge and receptive international audience... for many decades to come.

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