The truth will surface.
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.
Special Agent Matti
As a non-eater of things that live in the water I'm all in favour of putting a ban on harvesting sharks. As a greenie I'm all in favour of not killing sharks. As a thong-wearing Aussie I'm happy to have sharks swimming around Bondi - fair crack of the whip, I reckon. All of which is a long-winded way of saying that Rob Stewart's Sharkwater is preaching to the choir.
As a nature documentary, Sharkwater is short on detail: there's nothing about the life cycles of sharks, their preferred prey, etc. As environmental agit-prop, however, it really gets your juices flowing. There are bad men out there who care only for the next dollar they can make. Concepts like sustainability and biodiversity are alien to them; it's all about making a profit. Grrr.
As a biographical documentary, however, Sharkwater does a lot better. Rob Stewart is a personable young man who looks good in Speedos and does a good line in caring about the world, sharks in particular. His journey is intriguing because he's actually willing to do something about his convictions rather than merely tell us how bad things are. It's good.
The documentary, nature movie Sharkwater is directed by Rob Stewart and stars Patrick Moore, Erich Ritter, Paul Watson.
PG (Contains scenes of animal cruelty, infrequent coarse language)
88 minutes (1:28 hours)
Film: 15 May 2008 - NSW, QLD
