Sharkwater (2006)
SW Productions

Description

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 life-long 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. 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.

Tags

Sharks

Collected reviews and ratings

10 Amazon user reviews

A stunning and remarkable documentary film about the illegal fishing of sharks for the Asian food market that is both riveting and beautiful to watch.
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9.2 Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

This beautiful and urgent eco-doc takes a bite out of the shark mythology made indelible by Jaws.
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9.0 DVD Verdict | Dylan Charles

The best part of Sharkwater is the cinematography, and Stewart's background as an underwater photographer comes through crystal clear here. His shots of sharks in their natural habitat and their interactions with him go a long way toward tearing down the myth that sharks are uncontrolled killing machines, which is one of the largest hurdles sharks face.
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8.0 DVD Talk | Thomas Spurlin

Sharkwater brings a dangerous ecological threat into light with this movingly intense and beautifully shot documentary. Rob Stewart's steady force upon the sharkfin industry can be downright engrossing, even when he tries a little too hard to illustrate the severity of the problem.
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7.0 New York Times | Matt Zoller Seitz

Brazenly melodramatic and furiously angry, “Sharkwater” aims to be nothing less than the “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” of aquatic conservation: propaganda with teeth.
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6.0 Boxoffice Magazine | Kevin Courrier

The gorgeous high-definition cinematography creates a sumptuous undersea world in delicate balance. Sharkwater is a rare advocacy film that arouses both awe and wonder.
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5.0 Variety | David Rooney

There's no questioning wildlife photographer and biologist Rob Stewart's passionate commitment, but he's also the principal problem. While the docu's subject is sharks and the indiscriminate killing of them for the lucrative shark fin market, it too often appears to have been hijacked to become about the filmmaker.
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5.0 Time Out | Derek Adams

Faintly egotistical biologist-turned-filmmaker Rob Stewart spent four years making this investigative doc and the result, despite his tendency towards over-earnest, stoner-esque commentary, is enlightening, shocking and more than a little worrying.
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