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  Film: Nell Schofield previews Sharkwater and Then She Found Me May 11, 2008 Reporter :Nell Schofield  Watch our reportFilm: Nell Schofield previews Sharkwater and Then She Found Me It's a cruel irony that the one creature we fear the most is the one we can't live without. And yet in the past three decades we've managed to reduced its population by 90%. This is just one of many startling statistics presented in a new documentary that is destined to change the way we feel about sharks. Rob Stewart is an unusual individual. Unlike the majority of the population, he has no fear of sharks. He has devoted his life to photographing and studying them up close. And in his first feature-length film, he makes a passionate plea for their protection. During the making of the film, Rob Stewart teamed up with Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, who was invited by the President of Costa Rica to help stop illegal fishing in the country’s surrounding waters. Another dramatic turning point came when Rob was diagnosed with a rare flesh- eating disease that threatened to claim his leg, if not his life. But all he could think of was getting back in the water and saving the sharks. Rob Stewart with a call to action to save not only the sharks, but ourselves as well. His film Sharkwater is an amazingly powerful and often disturbing debut. It was shot over four years in fifteen different countries and it certainly makes you aware of the fact that fins belong on sharks not in expensive soup. But if you can't handle scenes of cruelty to these much maligned animals, then perhaps a romantic comedy would be more to your taste. Then She Found Me is Helen Hunt's baby. She directed, produced, co-wrote and stars in the film as April Epner, a newly separated kindergarten teacher who forms a relationship with the father of one of her pupils. Colin Firth co-stars as the emotionally confused Frank with Mathew Broderick as April’s ex and Bette Midler as her newly discovered celebrity birth mother, Bernice. Then She Found Me is based on a popular book by Elinor Lipman that Helen Hunt adapted for the screen with some additions of her own including the character of Frank, who has some of the best lines in the film, and a loud biological clock ticking away in her character’s head. Casting Salman Rushdie as an obstetrician is another interesting touch. This is a funny, adult piece of work that deals with the long term fallout of adoption and the importance of family, no matter how dysfunctional. |
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