A film festival planned this summer will raise money to keep the St. Johns River clean and healthy.
The festival's creator Laura Bearl said her love for Northeast Florida’s waterways inspired her to start the Swim Shorts Film Festival to benefit the St. Johns Riverkeeper.
“When I looked into St. Johns Riverkeeper, I thought they were really great,” Bearl said. “I had seen some of their work before and I just thought ‘well hey, maybe I can have this film festival and the beneficiary can be St. Johns Riverkeeper.' ”
Bearl is taking submissions of water-related films until July 15 at swimshortsfilmfest.org.
The finalists will be showcased at Sun-Ray Cinema in mid-August, and the top three films in each age category will receive trophies made by local artist Crystal Floyd.