The underwater world was celebrated on Saturday night as a record crowd of over 600 attended the Cairns Underwater Film Festival.  

Cairns local Enrico Zanzareli outshone international entrants to take out ‘Best of Show’ with his image of a Maori Wrasse on the Great Barrier Reef. 

The short film category was won by a short film "The Truth About Minke Whales" which drew a huge response from the packed theatre. The humorous film won over the judges and crowd with its unique perspective, beautiful footage of minke whales and entertainment value.

The total amount raised by the event for the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and Minke Whale Research Project won't be known for a few weeks, but raffles on the night raised over $4000 and generous donations from local businesses have also contributed hugely to the success of the event. 

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“The calibre of films submitted to the competition was very exciting,” said Cairns Underwater Film Festival Board Member and Underwater Filmmaker Stuart Ireland. 

“We were also very thankful to have the generous support of many of Australia’s, and the world’s, best contemporary underwater filmmakers who contributed their work to the festival.”

Cairns Underwater Film Festival President, Mike Ball, who is also a member of the Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, was very happy with the success of the event. 

“We have broken every record in the festival’s history this year.  And while there were more international entries than ever, Queensland's talent still shone through.  We have an amazing wealth of very talented underwater image-makers here.”