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Oceanic Aliens

Oceanic Aliens is an internationally award winning short documentary that explores one aspect of how little we truly know about planet earth. More is known about outer space than our very own oceans. This short documentary illustrates just one example of a little known class of marine species and their amazing attributes.

  • Mike Johnson
    Writer
  • Mike Johnson
    Camera
  • Mike Johnson
    Editor
  • Mike Johnson
    Producer
  • Tim Tialdo
    Narrator
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Ocean, Underwater, Wildlife, nature, documentary, scuba
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 11 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 30, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    1,250 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Wildlife Conservation Film Festival
    New York, NY
    United States
    October 23, 2017
    US Premiere
  • "CayFilm" Cayman Islands International Film Festival
    George Town
    Cayman Islands
    July 1, 2017
    Caribbean Premiere
  • Calcutta International Cult Film Festival
    Kolkata
    India
    April 29, 2017
    Best Film on Nature/Environment/Wildlife
  • Hollywood International Independent Documentary Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    March 24, 2018
    Award of Excellence - Nature/Landscape Short
  • Hollywood International Independent Documentary Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    March 24, 2018
    Award of Excellence - Narration
  • Hollywood International Independent Documentary Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    March 24, 2018
    Award of Excellence - Cinematography
  • Depth of Field International Film Festival
    Nassau, DE
    United States
    Best of Show
  • Depth of Field International Film Festival
    Nassau, DE
    United States
    Award of Outstanding Excellence: Cinematography
  • Depth of Field International Film Festival
    Nassau, DE
    United States
    Award of Excellence: VO Talent
  • Guam International Film Festival
    Hagåtña
    Guam
    September 27, 2017
    Pacific Premiere
  • WIIFA. Wolves Independent International Film Awards
    Utena
    Lithuania
    May 30, 2017
  • Documentary Short Film Festival
    Toronto, Ontario
    Canada
    August 24, 2017
    Canadian Premiere
  • INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF OUTDOOR FILMS
    Ostrava
    Czech Republic
    October 6, 2017
  • Earth Talks
    Prague
    Czech Republic
    October 6, 2017
    European Premiere
  • Wild and Green Shorts
    Missoula, MT
    United States
    April 18, 2017
  • Barbados Independent Film Festival
    Bridgetown
    Barbados
    January 8, 2018
  • Cult Critic Movie Awards
    Kolkata
    India
    January 11, 2018
    Outstanding Achievement Award - Nature/Environment/Wildlife
  • IFF Ekotopfilm - Envirofilm
    Bratislava
    Slovakia
    April 30, 2018
  • International Ocean Film Festival
    San Francisco, CA
    United States
    March 10, 2018
  • Kolkata International Wildlife & Environment Film Festival
    Kolkata
    India
    December 15, 2017
  • Ocean City Film Festival
    Ocean City, MD
    United States
    June 8, 2017
  • San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition
    San Diego, CA
    United States
    October 6, 2017
  • The University of Idaho Fish & Wildlife Film Festival
    Moscow, ID
    United States
    October 5, 2017
    Best of Festival - Underwater
  • The Wayward Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    February 28, 2018
    Semi-Finalist - Innovator Prize for Documentary Films
  • Voices from the Waters International Traveling Film Festival
    Bangalore
    India
    October 17, 2018
  • Beeston Film Festival
    Nottingham
    United Kingdom
    March 8, 2018
  • International Wildlife Film Festival
    Missoula, Montana
    United States
    April 14, 2018
  • Utah Film Festival and Awards
    Orem, UT
    United States
    April 5, 2018
  • Solar Cinema Malta - Touring Festival 2018

    Malta
    May 1, 2018
Distribution Information
  • Amazon.com
    Country: United States
    Country: Japan
    Country: Germany
    Country: United Kingdom
Director Biography

Mike Johnson is a Director of Photography specializing in adventure and outdoor video productions. He travels the world shooting and producing television shows, documentaries, and the occasional corporate video. Mike is also a passionate diver, working in his spare time as a PADI Divemaster. Follow Mike on Facebook @mikejohnsonvideopro and on Instagram @mikejohnsonvideo.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Oceanic Aliens is a short documentary compiled from two Pelagic Black Water dives I did in Kona, Hawaii. The dives were an amazing experience that is hardly portrayed through photos or video.

Upon returning home and reviewing the footage, I researched endlessly to identify many of the creatures featured in this doc. With few experts and even less public interest in zooplankton, reliable information was difficult to find.

To me its quite amazing how much funding and effort is placed into space exploration and research, and how little is put into discovering and protecting our very own oceans. Hopefully this short documentary will inspire some to do more - I know it does for me. Please enjoy the film and feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or ideas for future projects!