FREMANTLE’S love affair with the ocean will be on full display next month when Freo.Social hosts a celebration for Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday.
The Parry Street venue will screen Attenborough’s latest documentary Ocean on May 8 before transforming into an ocean-themed music and arts event.
Freo.Social managing director James Legge said the idea came together by chance.
“So the inspiration came from someone we work with closely at Freo.Social who recently watched the Ocean documentary, and he thought it would be an amazing opportunity, given it’s Sir David Attenborough’s birthday on May 8 this year, to combine the film with an event to celebrate his 100th birthday,” he said.
“And coincidentally enough, I checked the booking calendar, and although Freo.Social was booked out for six months on a Friday that particular May 8, was open.”
“I put a pencil hold on it, and we began working on the event. And it’s all kind of evolved from there.”
• Freo musician Lucky Oceans and Freo.Social managing director James Legge discuss the tribute to Sir David Attenborough. Photo by Steve Grant
The evening will begin with a free screening of Ocean, followed by an address from ocean environmentalist Professor Michael Wear.
Mr Legge said few public figures were as widely admired.
“I’m struggling to think of a more popular human being in the world,” he said.
“He’s such a likeable gentleman and done so much for the environment.”
“He really deserves the acknowledgement this certainly will give him, but the whole world, hopefully, when he turns 100, acknowledges the contribution he’s made to natural world.”
Mr Legge said Ocean carried an important message about both the damage done to marine ecosystems and the possibility of recovery.
“I think one of his key messages that is out of the film is that we’ve done a lot of bad things to the ocean, but it has the ability to regenerate itself in a quick period of time, if we give it the latitude to do so,” he said.
“If we continue over-fishing and treating the oceans poorly, then there’s only one direction.”
“But there’s time to arrest that decline and do something really positive. And that’s the message that he’s pushing in the film.”
Freo.Social reached out to see if Mr Attenborough could send a message through for the event, but sadly the news came through that he was too ill. The filmmaker has previously acknowledged the impact age has had on his cognitive functions and last birthday spoke about the nearing end of his life.
Among those performing on the night will be Grammy Award-winning Fremantle musician Lucky Oceans, whose music will aim to capture the feel of the sea.
Mr Oceans said he was quick to agree when approached.
“Well, James and I have a mutual friend in Brendan Hutchins of Van Productions, who does Shipwreck Hunters,” he said.
“And I had sent Brendan some music that I thought he could use for Shipwreck Hunters, because it was improvised and very oceanic and watery.
“He had me and my group play at the launch of this season. And it went off.
“And since then, we’ve done shows with this particular unit, which features me on the pedal steel guitar, often using weird pedals and using extended techniques to create the feel of the ocean.”
Mr Oceans also reflected on his own connection with Fremantle and the sea.
“My adopted name,” he said.
“Maybe I should change my middle name to Indian.”
“But I was a real mainlander. It was just, it was prescient.”
The celebration will also feature performances from the Imperial String Quartet, WA musician Rick Webster performing John Butler’s Ocean, DJ sets and ocean-themed visuals.
The screening of Ocean runs from 5pm to 7.30pm, while the evening celebration starts at 8pm.
by STEVE GRANT