Sharkwater – showing now!
By Simon Rogerson
This month sees the cinema release of an emotional documentary about the shark-finning industry, filmed from the perspective of diver and cameraman Rob Stewart
Rob Stewart
Sharkwater is the first cinema documentary to address the global scandal of shark finning, and for that reason alone it is a very important film. It has already swept up eight awards at various film festivals, and is due to open in the UK this month, in partnership with the Shark Trust.
The major challenge facing film-maker Rob Stewart is the same one facing conservationists: how to make people care about the killing of sharks when the public is generally unsympathetic towards them. His solution is to make a documentary in the style of a personal crusade, so this is very much a film of his adventures.
And, for the most part, it works. While Stewart uses footage from all over the world, the film is mostly centred on the tropical Eastern Pacific, where finning operations are ravaging stocks. The footage of sharks is beautiful, the section with the Sea Shepherds harassing a finning boat is dramatic, and the candid images of illegal fishermen operating with impunity in Costa Rica is effective undercover journalism. The latter is the film’s greatest achievement – working around the port of Puntarenas, Stewart shows how Costa Rica’s ban on shark finning is pointless in the face of the black market and corrupt local government.
The film is well worth seeing and will raise awareness of a hidden scandal. However, it is not flawless. The narrative tends to jump around somewhat, and Stewart’s own role is so overt it borders on narcissism. In his defence, it’s probably an effective way to personalise the issue (and the ladies say he is quite easy on the eye), but you do get the feeling that he didn’t have to be pushed into the frame.
As you watch our hero zooming along on an underwater scooter over the closing credits, you feel that he loves sharks almost as much as much as he loves himself. Still, Stewart has made a film that will entertain people while exposing the scandal and senseless carnage of shark finning.
Sharkwater – Movie Synopsis
– Bonnie Laufer, Tribute Magazine
For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure. What it turned into was a beautiful and dangerous life journey into the balance of life on earth.
Driven by passion fed from a lifelong fascination with sharks, Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas.
Filmed in visually stunning, high definition video, Sharkwater takes you into the most shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world’s shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Sharkwater Shot in high Definition
In an effort to protect sharks, Stewart teams up with renegade conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Their unbelievable adventure together starts with a battle between the Sea Shepherd and shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing them to flee for their lives.
Through it all, Stewart discovers these magnificent creatures have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth’s history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed.
Stewart’s remarkable journey of courage and determination changes from a mission to save the world’s sharks, into a fight for his life, and that of humankind.
Genre: Documentary
Running time: 89 min.
Director: Rob Stewart
Studio: Alliance Films
Producer(s): Rob Stewart
Screenplay: Rob Stewart
Cast: Rob Stewart, Paul Watson, Dr. Erich Ritter, Susan Backlinie, Godfrey Merlin, Mark Butler, Dr. Boris Worm, William Goh, Vic Hislop, Dr. Samuel Gruber, Rex Weyler, Carlos Perez Cembrero, Patrick Moore, Lisa Anastario, Larissa Gilligan
