When we were invited to screen Sand Dancers at Cinemare International Ocean Festival in Kiel, we didn’t quite know what to expect. What we found was one of the most distinctive festival experiences we’ve had — a city, a marina, and a community of filmmakers all united by the ocean.

Getting there is half the story. We flew into Hamburg and caught the train north to Kiel — a short ride that drops you into a city shaped entirely by its relationship with the sea. From the moment we arrived, it felt like the right place for Sand Dancers to be shown.

The festival opened with a ceremony that set the tone immediately — live performances, a genuine sense of occasion, and the kind of atmosphere you only get when a city really owns its event. We got to meet the organisers and fellow filmmakers from across the world, and the delegate community was substantial. This is a festival that draws serious people who care deeply about ocean storytelling.

We explored Kiel properly — the city, the marina, the waterfront. One of the highlights away from the screenings was a visit to the oceanology research centre, where we watched 360-degree underwater films unlike anything we’d seen before. Immersive, humbling, and a reminder of just how much story the ocean holds.

The Sand Dancers screening took place at the Studio Filmtheater am Dreiecksplatz — a beautiful alternative cinema with fire curtains and all the character you want for a film like ours. To watch a story born on the beaches of South Tyneside play out in a room like that, in front of an international audience, was something special.

And then we won. Sand Dancers was awarded the Winds & Waves Award — and honestly, we’re still proud. For a film made from the ground up in the North East, recognised at an international ocean festival in Germany, it means everything.