Sharkwater
| Sharkwater | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Sharkwater | |
| Directed by | Rob Stewart |
| Produced by | Rob Stewart |
| Narrated by |
Rob Stewart Paul Watson |
| Music by |
Moby Nina Simone Ali Farka Toure The Riderless Geoffrey Oryema Aphex Twin Portishead |
| Distributed by | Freestyle Releasing |
| Release dates |
|
| Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Sharkwater is a 2006 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Rob Stewart, who also narrates it. In the film, Stewart seeks to deflate current attitudes about sharks, and exposes how the voracious shark-hunting industry is driving them to extinction. His next film, Revolution, builds on Sharkwater.
Filmed in high definition video, Sharkwater explores the densest shark populations in the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption of the shark-hunting industry in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
Stewart travels with Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship as they confront shark poachers in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Among the group's experiences are boat chases with poachers and police, boat ramming, hidden camera footage of massive shark finning facilities, corrupt court systems and eventually attempted murder charges which force Stewart and Watson to flee from the police. Stewart explores how the increasing demand for shark-fin soup in Asia is fueling an illegal trade in sharks. His expedition is cut short, however, when he is diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis (from which he recovers).
Stewart discovers that sharks have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the Earth's history of mass extinctions, as well as being a predator that prevents the overconsumption of plankton by other fish, moderating global warming, they could easily be wiped out within a few years.
The film has won eight major awards and been nominated an additional three times.[1]
Awards
Sharkwater has received 33 international awards.
- Canada's Top Ten : Toronto International Film Festival
- People's Choice : Atlantic International Film Festival
- People's Choice : Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival
- Best Documentary : Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival
- Spirit of Independents Award : Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival
- Special Jury Award : Hawaii International Film Festival
- Best Musical Composition : France World Festival of Underwater Pictures
- Prix Planete Thalassa : France World Festival of Underwater Pictures
- Best of the Festival Palm Springs : International Film Festival
- Best International Doc : Beverly Hills Hi-Def Festival
- Best HD Feature : AFI Dallas International Film Festival
- Audience Choice Award for Best Feature : Gen Art Film Festival
- Grand Jury Award for Best Feature : Gen Art Film Festival
- Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award : Shark Research Institute
- Special Jury Award : 15 Short Film Festival – Charlotte, NC
- Must-See Award (Category: Wake-Up Films) : Telluride Mountain Film Festival
- Hero of Conservation – Water Category : Conservation for the Oceans Foundation
- Top Ten Films : Cambridge Film Festival
- Jameson Audience Award : for Best International Documentary Encounters South African Int’l Doc. Festival
- Best Documentary : Film - Nominee Critics Choice Awards
- Animal Action Award : International Fund for Animal Welfare
- Best Documentary : Directors Guild of Canada
- Best Of The Festival : Santa Barbara Ocean Film Festival
- Best Sound : Nominee Golden Reel Awards
- Best Documentary : Nominee Genie Awards
- Best Environmental : Film of 2008 National Ocean Film Festival Alliance
- Best Feature Documentary : Genesis Awards
- Audience Award : Durban Int'l Film Festival, S.A.
- Activism through Adventure : Adventure Film Festival 2008 Boulder, CO
- Theatrical Award - Nominated Wildscreen 2008 : Panda Award
- Youth Documentary Award : Bergen International Film Festival
References
- ↑ Sharkwater at the Internet Movie Database
External links
- Official website
- Sharkwater at MovieSet.com
- Sharkwater at the Internet Movie Database
- Sharkwater at Rotten Tomatoes
- Sharkwater at Metacritic