Sharkwater
Encyclopedia
Sharkwater is a 2007
Canadian documentary film
written and directed by Rob Stewart
, who also narrates it. In the film, Stewart seeks to deflate current attitudes about shark
s, and exposes how the voracious shark-hunting industry is driving them to extinction
.
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 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.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Canadian documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
written and directed by Rob Stewart
Rob Stewart (filmmaker)
Rob Stewart is an Canadian photographer and movie director/filmmaker, best known for making and directing the multi-award-winning movie Sharkwater.-Biography:...
, who also narrates it. In the film, Stewart seeks to deflate current attitudes about shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s, and exposes how the voracious shark-hunting industry is driving them to extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
.
Filmed in high definition video, Sharkwater explores the densest shark populations in the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption of the shark-hunting industry
Shark fin trading in Costa Rica
Shark fin trading in Costa Rica, or shark finning, is an illegal practice in the country. It poses a serious problem with shark populations and organized crime within Costa Rica...
in the marine reserves of Cocos Island
Cocos Island
Cocos Island is an uninhabited island located off the shore of Costa Rica . It constitutes the 11th district of Puntarenas Canton of the province of Puntarenas. It is one of the National Parks of Costa Rica...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
Stewart travels with Paul Watson
Paul Watson
Paul Watson is a Canadian animal rights and environmental activist, who founded and is president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group devoted to marine conservation....
and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as they confront shark poachers in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Costa Rica. Among the group's experiences are boat chases with poachers and police, boat ramming, hidden camera footage of massive shark finning
Shark finning
Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of shark fins and the discarding of the rest of the fish. Shark finning takes place at sea so the fishers only have to transport the fins.Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored...
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
Necrotizing fasciitis
Necrotizing fasciitis , commonly known as flesh-eating disease or Flesh-eating bacteria syndrome, is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues, easily spreading across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous tissue.Necrotizing fasciitis is a quickly progressing and...
(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
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
by other fish,
moderating global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, they could easily be wiped out within a few years.
The film has won eight major awards and been nominated an additional three times.
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 FestivalBergen International Film FestivalThe Bergen International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in October in Bergen, Norway since 2000, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films. The 11th edition of the festival in 2010 featured 150 films in the program, a new record...