ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — A feature-length documentary about a local maritime disaster was selected to be screened at the 47th annual Atlanta Film Festival next month.
The film, which follows the disastrous saga of a capsized cargo ship in St. Simons Sound, Ga., is titled “Ship Happens.” It tracks the fires and failures that defined salvage operations for the Golden Ray, which took more than two years to remove and remains the largest and most expensive wreck removal in U.S. history.
Directors Jordan Bellamy and Josh Gilligan held a small, private screening for the local community last October at the Ritz theater in Brunswick, but the April event in Atlanta will be film festival debut.
"Ship Happens" was one of five films announced first by festival organizers.
The festival's website explains, "This first wave, selected from the over 9,000+ film and screenplay submissions, consists of three documentary features and two narrative features." According to festival Programming Director Jonathan Kieran, "We chose this initial wave of films because together they reflect the breadth and diversity of the 160+ films that will make up ATLFF's final slate."
The festival runs April 20 through April 30. You can find more info here.