Courtesy Photo Above is a photo from “The Blue Forest,” by Philip Hamilton, showing at 6 p.m. Thursday at Alcona County Library in Harrisville as part of the Thunder Bay International Film Festival On the Road.

ALPENA — This event is kind of like Shark Week, but better.

Thunder Bay International Film Festival is Jan. 26 to 30, back in person this year at Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena.

“Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary brings ocean and Great Lakes films from around the world to Northeast Michigan,” a press release explains. “The five-day festival screens nearly 100 films, ranging from two minutes to feature-length. Film screenings are complemented by social events, educational activities, and opportunities to meet filmmakers.”

TBIFF is presented in partnership with the International Ocean Film Festival. In addition to the events at GLMHC in Alpena, films will be showing in Harrisville on Thursday and in Rogers City on Monday, Jan. 30.

For the last two years, the festival has been offered virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but organizers and filmmakers are excited to be back in person this year.

“We’re super excited to be back in person for the first time since 2020,” said Stephanie Gandulla, TBIFF organizer and Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary resource protection coordinator. “Even though we have done the virtual festival for the past couple of years, one of the main values in having an in-person film festival is being with your fellow community members to watch these films, and learn about these issues, and then discuss them.”

Many filmmakers will be at the festival to present their films and answer questions.

A lot of the films pertain to the ocean, but “we do have a great collection of Great Lakes films,” Gandulla said. “Some films, you’re not going to be able to see anywhere else, except for the film festival, so that’s special.”

Topics range from surfing, sailing, scuba diving, shipwrecks, deep sea mining, environmental issues, ocean organisms, rescuing whales, and you might even see a shark or two.

“It really is a pretty diverse selection of topics,” Gandulla said. “And also diverse types of films.”

She added that there are short films, long films, serious films, lighter films, animated films, classic documentaries, and everything in between.

It is sure to be both an educational and entertaining experience.

Gandulla said all the films are new each year at the TBIFF.

“Every year’s a whole new batch,” she said. “It’s 100% all-new content.”

The fun starts at 6 p.m. Thursday with TBIFF On the Road at the Alcona County Library in Harrisville. Thursday films include “Planktonium,” “Poisonous Ponds,” “The Great Storm of 1872,” “The Blue Forest,” and “Stranded: A Whale Rescue Tale.” That program is $10, or included with the all-access $100 Thunder Pass, which gets you into every single session during the festival. If all programs were paid for separately, it would cost $150, so the Thunder Pass offers a $50 savings for those wishing to attend all sessions.

Friday will feature a Great Lakes Gala reception and films starting at 6 p.m., for $30 per person, at GLMHC, 500 W. Fletcher St., Alpena. Those films include “A.A. Parker: One Ship, Twice Sunk,” “Sailing on Steel,” “The Forest Stands Tall,” “In Too Deep: The True Cost of Deep Sea Mining,” and “The Erie Situation.”

On Saturday, Jan. 28, the festival continues with various programs in two theaters at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., for $10 each. Then at 3 p.m., two free programs are offered — Films from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant in the Greats Lakes in Theater 1, and a Filmmaker’s Panel in Theater 2. At 6 p.m., the Sanctuary Soiree begins, for $30 per person, featuring a reception and the following films: “Sinkhole MicroAdventure,” “Love for a Lighthouse,” “Underwater Photogrammetry in the Great Lakes,” “Eight Arms That Unite Us,” “ICEolation,” and “Great Lakes Untamed: The Big Freeze.”

On Sunday, various programs are offered in both theaters at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m., for $10 each, or all included with the Thunder Pass.

The in-person event concludes with the last TBIFF On the Road program at 6 p.m. on Monday at Rogers City Theater in Rogers City, for $10 per person. That program includes “Albacore Tuna: The Tale of a Fish,” “Great White Sharks,” “Sharks of the Sea of Cortes: A Lost Treasure?”, “Vampires of the Great Lakes,” and “Final Run: Storms of the Century.”

For tickets and film descriptions, visit thunderbayfriends.org. If you can’t attend in person, a virtual program will be offered Feb. 1-12, accessible through the Thunder Bay Friends website.

To learn more about the festival, and hear from filmmakers, check out Monday’s Lifestyles page and online at thealpenanews.com.