SHARKWATER Moving Towards National Release

[img_assist|nid=5743|title=|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=350|height=197]Monday, July 16-------SHARKWATER, the eco-documentary by champion diver and eco activist Rob Stewart, is moving towards a national release in the US after winning a slew of US and international awards. The film is screening tomorrow on Martha's Vineyard as part of the Martha's Vineyard Film Society summer film series (the same organization that presents the Martha's Vineyard Film Festival in September).

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, the film transports audiences 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. In 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.
 The film has already broken box office records in its native Canada and is slated for a national release later this year in the United States (more on this later). In the meantime, the film has had a stellar career on the international film festival circuit, winning top prizes at such festivals as Fort Lauderdale International Film, Thalassa Antibes (France), Beverly Hills Hi-Def Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Atlantic International Film Festival (Canada), Hawaii International Film  and Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Check out the movie trailer by clicking:  http://www.sharkwater.com/index.html

Sandy Mandelberger, Coming Attractions Editor