| Rob Stewart (filmmaker) | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 28, 1979 Toronto Ontario |
| Occupation | Film, photography, director |
Rob Stewart (b. December 28, 1979) is an Canadian photographer and movie director/filmmaker, best known for making and directing the multi-award-winning movie Sharkwater.
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Stewart was born in 1979, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he was raised.[1] He began doing underwater photography as a teenager, and became a scuba-diving trainer when he was eighteen years old. He attended the prestigious Crescent School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as a youth.[1]
For four years, Stewart worked as chief photographer for the Canadian Wildlife Federation's magazines, and also worked as a freelance journalist. He won awards for his journalism.[1]
Stewart holds a Bachelor's degree in biology.[1]
Rob Stewart got the idea to make the movie Sharkwater at age twenty-two, when he found out there was illegal long-lining in the marine reserve, while he was photographing sharks in the Galapagos Islands, and the public did not respond when he tried to put out a message that the lining was killing the sharks.[1] He travelled through fifteen countries for the next four years, studying and filming sharks for the film.[1] Stewart often posts shark conservation notes and information on his Facebook page.
Stewart has also appeared on Loose Women in one episode in 2008, Sidewalks Entertainment in the 2007 episode "Sterling and Sharkwater", The Smart Woman Survival Guide in the 2006 episode "Earth Day", and in The Best Years in the 2009 episode "Delirious".
Stewart has been nominated for eight film festival awards for Sharkwater, from the Hawaii International Film Festival, the Gen Art Film Festival, the Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival, and the Atlantic Film Festival. In 2006, he won the Special Jury Award for Documentaries, the Spirit of the Independent award, the People's Choice award for Best film, the Jury award for Best Documentary, and the Audience Award for Best film. The following year, he won the Audience and Best Feature awards at the Gen Art Film festival. In 2008, he received a Genie Award nomination for Best Documentary. He also received a Genesis Award for Outstanding Documentary,[2] and an Environmental Vision award at the 35th annual Vision awards; held in Los Angeles, in 2008.[3]