Bringing together some of the best underwater photographers and film makers in the world!

2024 Film Festival Presenters

Maureen & Steve Langevins

Maureen & Steve Langevin are PADI instructors, technical divers, and US Coast Guard licensed Captains. They founded Dive Voyager Expeditions, a company that specializes in scuba instruction and filmmaking. Christopher Drew, technical diver and Divemaster recently joined the DIVE Team. Steve and Maureen introduce students to diving in the Northeast aboard their dive boat “Voyager” and produce films to entertain audiences about our amazing undersea world and rich maritime history.

Through Dive Voyager Expeditions, they bring out the spirit of ocean exploration through award winning documentary films such as Pioneers of Northeast Wreck Diving, Women of Northeast Wreck Diving, Search for the HMS Sylph and A Shipwreck’s Secret, a story about the expedition to recover a 5,000 pound anchor from the wreck of the Stolt Dagali which is available for online viewing at SnagFilms. The artifact was donated to the Museum of NJ Maritime History where it is displayed prominently at the entranceway.

Their educational children’s series Our Precious Ocean is fun and entertaining but also teaches young people important facts about sharks, coral reefs and how destructive fishing, plastics and balloons can be harmful. The film Lost at Sea: Texas Tower Disaster debuted in 2012 as a rough cut and they have many more films available or are in progress.

Their work has been featured on television, in magazines & newspaper articles, at dive events and film festivals. Maureen is a proud member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame. Check out their work on the Dive Voyager Expeditions YouTube Channel or follow their Facebook page.

Presenting: "Egypt and the Red Sea"

Egypt is a mystical experience. Its endless desert, breath-taking pyramids, and rare Egyptian tombs are just some of the stunning sights which surround the amazing Red Sea. Join us as we plunge deep below the surface into these beautiful and healthy coral marine ecosystems which is a truly unforgettable experience!

Visit Dive Voyager Expeditions at: http://divevoyagerexpeditions.com/

Peter Venoutsos

Peter Venoutsos has been a certified diver since 1976 and a commercial diver since 1983. His experience includes working with private underwater engineering firms, the Federal Government and the US Navy.

He is an active member of the Connecticut Underwater Archeology Committee and his interests include underwater photography, shipwrecks & cave diving. He is the founder of American Scuba Adventures a underwater video company with the goal of promoting diving in the United States and around the world.

Presenting: "Wet & Wild: The Many Faces of Africa"

Join Peter as he embarks on an amazing expedition to Africa! Peter's first stop will be to the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania where he will take the audience on a safari and visit various national parks. Peter will then jump onto a private chartered and fly to the Island of Pemba which is part of Tanzania's Zanzibar Archipelago, off the coast of East Africa. There, he will dive into the warm blue waters off the Indian ocean to explore the pristine coral reefs and view the abundant marine life that surround this magnificent island.

For more information about Peter, visit: https://www.facebook.com/pvenoutsos

Larry Cohen & Olga Torrey

Larry: The year was 1989, when Larry Cohen decided he wanted to become a Scuba diver and when his underwater adventures began. Because of his background as a commercial and editorial photographer, he started taking photographs underwater right from the beginning. He is a past president of The NYC Sea Gypsies, co-founder of NYUPS and crews on the NJ dive boat John Jack.

His photos have appeared in such magazines as X-Ray Magazine, Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, Alert Diver, Diver, Immersed, Advanced Diver, Sub Aqua Journal, InVertum and Northeast Dive News. Larry is also a technical writer for B&H Photo.

Olga: Originally from Russia Olga Torrey has been living in New York City for the past 20 years. She has a college honor degree in physical education and worked as a gym teacher, athletic director, and gym owner back in the former USSR. She is also a fine artist and Life member of the Art Students League of New York. Olga spends as much time underwater as possible.

She has taken her talent as a fine artist and applied her skills to photography both above and below the water. Olga has taken underwater photographs from the warm waters of Bonaire to the green rich waters of Alaska. She crews on the NJ dive boat the John Jack. She has been published in InVertum, X-Ray Magazine, Dive, Northeast Dive News and The Ultimate Depth.

Presenting: "Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula"

Larry and Olga will show images exploring Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula in this video slide show. They will cover historical ruins, wildlife on land, in the oceans, and the wonders of the underwater cave systems.

See more of Larry's work at: http://www.liquidimagesuw.com/
See more of Olga's work at: http://www.fitimage.nyc

Nicole Zelek

Nicole Zelek is the outspoken dive professional who believes in harnessing digital technology to share ideas and tell stories that inspire tangible change, particularly within the diving industry. She founded innovative NYC dive school SuperDive, and established a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Underwater for All". Nicole invites others to question and reimagine diving norms, to co-create a future where safe underwater recreation and connection to water are reclaimed as crucial human rights - not luxuries.

Presentation: "Negatively Buoyant: Becoming a Dive Instructor in NYC"

In the city where, "if you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere"... will you sink or swim as a scuba instructor? In this interactive experience, the audience is invited to take the plunge and navigate the unique challenges of a dive career in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.

See more of Nicole’s work at:

Cristina Zenato & Kewin Lorenzen

Cristina: A professional diver since 1994, Cristina is an active shark behaviorist and ecologist, underwater cave explorer, a champion for ocean conservation, underwater photographer, speaker and writer. Cristina’s work can be summarized in three words: Exploration, Education, Conservation. A member of the Women Divers Hall of Fame and The Explorers Club, she is a firm believer in the power of education and spends her time teaching below and above the water.

Kewin: Originally from Denmark with an engineering background, Kewin, is a professional diver and underwater photographer and videographer, who loves to showcase his passion for the ocean, cave exploration, and sharks through his camera work.

Kewin has filmed shark TV programs as well as explored and completed advanced survey projects to create 3D, interactive and digital maps of submerged caves. In 2019 they founded the nonprofit People of the Water, organized to widen the conduction and distribution of training, education, research and studies related to water, ocean and environmental issues, affecting both the people and the animals of said environments.

Presentation: "Interconnected"

Cristina takes us on a unique journey from her passion for sharks, to her love for caves, to show us how water flows through every aspect of our lives. Following that flow makes us realize how everything is vitally interconnected.

Visit their websites at:

Michael Salvarezza & Christopher Weaver

Michael Salvarezza and Christopher Weaver have been diving the waters of the world since 1978. In that time, they have spent hundreds of hours underwater and have accumulated a large and varied library of photographic images.

In 1994, Salvarezza and Weaver formed a company called Eco-Photo Explorers, a New York based organization to help promote public interest in protecting the underwater environment through knowledge and awareness using underwater photography. Their photo and freelance writing are all utilized to achieve this goal.

They have presented their work in many multi-media presentations, and have appeared previously at Beneath the Sea, Boston Sea Rovers Underwater Clinic, Our World Underwater and the Long Island Divers Association Film Festival.

Mike and Chris have been published in numerous magazines, including National Geographic Adventure, and have authored many articles for the majority of the dive publications the world over. Their work has also been used to support a number of research and educational programs, including the Jason Project for Education, the Atlantis Marine World Aquarium in New York and the Cambridge University and the University of Groningen Arctic Centre work on monitoring the transformation of historic features in Antarctica and Svalbard.

Presenting: "Malta: Magical Diving in the Mediterranean"

The three islands of the Republic of Malta (Malta, Gozo and Comino) lie in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and Tunisia. Considered strategically important, Malta has been fought over since ancient times by numerous empires and warring nations. During World War II, the islands were ferociously attacked by the Axis powers, with relentless bombing causing tremendous deprivation and widespread destruction. Still, the Maltese held on and withstood the attacks, a testament to the pride and fortitude of the island nation.

Today, Malta is emerging as a tourist mecca and one of Europe’s capitals of culture. For SCUBA divers, the clear waters of Malta abound with diving opportunities waiting to be explored, from historic shipwrecks to spellbinding blue holes. In this presentation, Eco-Photo Explorers will journey to Malta and reveal its underwater treasures.

See more of Mike and Chris' work at: https://ecophotoexplorers.com