Data: 1º e 2 de dezembro de 2009
Horário: das 14h às 22h
Local: Auditório da Casa de Cultura Japonesa
Endereço: Avenida Professor Lineu Prestes, 159 – Cidade Universitária – Butantã
ENTRADA FRANCA
Distribuição de certificados aos interessados
Informações e inscrições: lei@usp.br
Tels.: (11) 3091-2441/ 3091-3584
Realização: Laboratório de Estudos sobre a Intolerância (LEI) – USP
Link para transmissão ao vivo: http://www.rumoatolerancia.fflch.usp.br/node/2477

O advogado Cristiano Pacheco, Diretor Jurídico Voluntário do Instituto Sea Shepherd Brasil, Diretor Executivo do Instituto Justiça Ambiental, líder-parceiro AVINA fará palestra sobre a ação civil pública que lidera visando indenização superior a R$ 62 milhões pelos danos irreversíveis causados pela captura ilegal de cerca de 36 mil tubarões em extinção por uma empresa de pesca situada em Rio Grande, RS.

O tema da palestra será reforçado com a apresentação do filme Sharkwater.

O documentário Sharkwater, do biólogo e mergulhador Rob Stewart, tem como objetivo desmistificar a qualidade de “assassino” erroneamente atribuída a estes animais – essenciais à manutenção da vida no mar e na terra – tal como fez Steven Spielberg pelo filme Tubarão. O filme também tem caráter investigativo, pois o próprio Rob Stewart entra com uma câmara escondida dentro de um dos maiores entrepostos de pesca de tubarões na América Latina, desbaratando um esquema ilegal milionário e mundial que já é mais lucrativo que o tráfico de drogas. O biólogo e cineasta Robert Stewart cultiva desde criança grande admiração por estes seres vivos que são mais antigos do que os dinossauros, e começou a mergulhar com eles desde muito cedo. Percebendo que tentar conscientizar o público através de fotos e panfletos não trazia resultados efetivos, resolveu produzir o tocante filme que acabou ganhando mais de 21 prêmios internacionais de melhor documentário.

PROGRAMAÇÃO

1º de dezembro de 2009
14h às 16h
A nova ética – O projeto USP CONVIVE.
Tibor Raboczkay – professor titular do Instituto de Química da USP, presidente da Comissão de Defesa dos Animais – USP CONVIVE.

Ecologia de estradas no Brasil
Giordano Ciocheti – graduado em ciências biológicas pela UFSCar, mestre em ecologia pela USP.

Aves silvestres e cativeiro
Soraya Lysenko – graduada em ciências sociais pela USP, diretora financeira da Associação Bichos da Mata.

Problemas de animais silvestres em cativeiro doméstico irregular e programa de reintrodução do Ibama/SP
Vincent Kurt Lo – graduado em ciências biológicas pela USP, analista ambiental do Ibama/SP.
Mediadora: Vânia Rall

16h às 17h30min
Sem rodeios: aspectos históricos, sociológicos e jurídicos da prática
Carlos Bedin Cipro – graduado em direito pela PUC/SP, advogado.

Ação judicial em defesa dos tubarões: uma luta pela vida e contra a crueldade
Cristiano Pacheco – graduado em direito pela ULBRA, diretor do IJA e advogado da Sea Shepherd Brasil.
Mediadora: Juliana Prado

17h30min -. Coffee break vegano

18h – Exibição do documentário Sharkwater, de Rob Stewart.

20h às 22h
A grande imprensa e os animais
Silvana Andrade – jornalista, diretora editorial da ANDA (Agência de Notícias de Direitos Animais)

Um dia enjaulado no Zoo de Bauru
Dagomir Marquezi – graduado em jornalismo pela FAAP, jornalista e escritor.
Mediador: Laerte Levai

2 de dezembro de 2009

14h às 16h
O impulso da automação – Racionalismo e controle na relação entre os humanos e os outros animais no pós-guerra
Frederico Santos Soares de Freitas – graduado em história pela USP, mestrando em história social pela USP.

O tanku, o pet e o ciborgue: uma perspectiva antropológica da relação humano-animal e dos direitos animais
Guilherme Antunes – graduado em ciências sociais pela Unesp, mestrando em antropologia social pela UFSCar.

A importância das ações estudantis na quebra do paradigma científico baseado no uso de animais
Róber Bachinski – graduando em ciências biológicas pela UFRGS.
Mediadora: Juliana Prado

16h às 18h
Direitos Animais: um novo paradigma na educação
Leon Denis Moreira Filho – graduado em filosofia e história, professor da rede pública de ensino.

Repensando as fronteiras entre o humano e o não-humano através da antropologia
Mayra Vergotti Ferrigno – graduada em ciências sociais pela Unicamp, mestranda em antropologia social pela Unicamp.

A superação do paradigma antropocêntrico no direito
Marcius Porto – graduado em direito pela Univap, juiz de direito do Estado de São Paulo.
Mediador: Laerte Levai

18h – Coffee break vegano

19h às 21h
Novos caminhos para a fundamentação legal da objeção de consciência à experimentação animal
Daniel Braga Lourenço – graduado em direito pela PUC/RJ, professor de direito da UFRRJ.

Direitos animais: desdobramentos das pregas morais
Sônia T. Felipe – doutora em teoria política e filosofia moral pela Universidade de Konstanz (Alemanha), pós-doutora em bioética e ética animal pela Universidade de Lisboa.
Mediadora: Vânia Rall.

wir Haie zum Leben brauchen?

Seitdem ich denken kann, waren Haie schon immer die Tiere, die ich am schönsten und faszinierensten fand. Ich wollte schon immer Meeresbiologin werden, damit ich sie in Wirklichkeit sehen kann. Ich habe natürlich früh genug gemerkt, dass mir Biologie nicht besonders liegt.  Das ändert trotzdem nichts an der Faszination, die diese Tiere in mir auslösen.

Haie gibt es schon seit über 450 Millionen Jahre, sogar schon 150 Millionen Jahre vor den Dinosaurieren gab es sie schon. Sie sind eines der ältesten Lebewesen der Erde.

Zwei Drittel der Erdoberfläche besteht aus Wasser und 80% der Lebewesen lebt unter Wasser. Haie kontrollieren die Populationen von anderen Tieren. Sie sind die Architekten unserer Unterwasserwelt, sie halten sie im Gleichgewicht. Haie sind ein kontrollierendes Glied in der Kette. Aus der Vergangenheit wissen wir: Wenn sich die Ozeane verändern, dann verändert sich auch das Leben auf der Erde.

“Menschen lieben es ein Monster zu haben und dieses zu hassen.” Durch Filme wie “Der weiße Hai” wird die Angst, die die Menschen sowieso schon vor Haien haben, nur noch angestachelt. Die wenigen Haiangriffe werden in den Medien “gepusht”, so dass eine größere Phobie entsteht. Fakt ist, dass Haie jedes Jahr 5 Menschen töten. Sie töten sie aber nicht, indem sie sie fressen. Nein, sie “probieren” lediglich und fressen sie nicht. Sie beißen uns nur, weil sie wissen wollen, was wir sind. Menschen passen nicht in ihr Beuteschema. Wir sind zu groß für sie. Wenn sie uns wirklich fressen wollten, dann würden sie es auch tun.

Haie töten jedes Jahr 5 Menschen
Elefanten und Tiger: 100
Hinrichtungen: 2.400
Illegale Drogen: 22.000
Verkehrsunfälle: 1.200.000
Hungertod: 8.000.000

In einem Jahr haben Krokodile so viele Menschen getötet, wie Haie in 100 Jahren. Sogar Getränkeautomaten töten mehr Menschen, als Haie.

Im Jahr 2006 erschien ein Trailer für einen neuen Film.

Als ich den Trailer gesehen habe, musste ich sofort in den Film. Ich war echt überwältigt von den Aufnahmen, aber auch ziemlich ergriffen von den erschreckenden Tatsachen.

“Sharkwater” ist eine Dokumentation von Rob Stewart. Rob Stewart ist Biologe und Unterwasserfotograf. Dieser Film drückt seine Passion für Haie aus. Er hat erstaunliche Aufnahmen von Haien zusammengestellt und selbst aufgenommen. Man sieht ihn, wie er gemeinsam mit ihnen schwimmt, sie streichelt und füttert. Er will uns zeigen, wie wunderschön und sensibel Haie sind und uns seinem Film “wachrütteln”. Weiße Haie, Walhaie und Riesenhaie sind vom Aussterben bedroht. Nicht nur diese, sondern auch viele andere Haiarten werden gejagt, da ihre Flossen “Gold” wert sind. “Shark Finning” nennt man die Jagd nach den Haiflossen. Hierbei wird lediglich die Flosse des noch lebenden Haies abgetrennt und der Körper des Haies wird zurück ins Meer geworfen. In China sind Haiflossen ein Symbol des Wohlstandes. Ein Teller Haifischflossensuppe kostet 90 Dollar, ein Pfund Haiflosse wird für mehr als 200 Dollar verkauft. Das Unglaublichste dabei ist, dass die Flosse an sich gar keinen Geschmack hat. Sie ist nur ein Symbol des Wohlstands. Dies ist der größte Grund, warum ein unglaublich großer Teil der Haipopulation abgebaut wird.  Sie werden in nahezu jedem Land gejagt. Für die Jagd nach Haien werden außerdem noch Langleinen benutzt. Stellt euch das so vor, dass man eine 90 km lange Leine unter Wasser spannt und ca. 16.000 Köder daran anbringt. Natürlich beißen nicht nur Haie an diesen Ködern an. Alles, was nicht gebraucht wird, wird an der Leine gelassen. Somit werden Massen von Tieren “umsonst” getötet.

Zum Schutz der Haie gibt es keine internationalen Abkommen.  In dem Film sieht man, wie Rob Stewart und Paul Watson (einer der ersten Greenpeace- Aktivisten) sich für den Schutz der Haie in den Meeren vor Costa Rica und den Galapagos Inseln einsetzen. Auf Costa Rica werden sie sogar festgenommen, da die Haiflossenmafia ihr Eingreifen stoppen wollte. Ja es gibt eine Haiflossenmafia, unglaublich, aber wahr. 100.000 Haie werden jährlich nur für den Handel in Costa Rica getötet.

Während des Filmdrehs hatte Rob Stewart sogar eine Art Blutvergiftung und die Ärzte meinte, dass er “Glück” gehabt hätte und wahrscheinlich nur sein Bein verlieren würde. Er hatte sehr viel Glück und behielt alle seine Gliedmaßen.

16 Länder haben das Shark Finning bereits verboten, aber das hält wenige davon ab, es dennoch zu tun.

Haie sind schwer zu schützen, da die meisten Menschen Angst vor ihnen haben, sie sehen eben nicht so niedlich aus wie Pandabären.

Die weltweite Haipopulation hat um ca. 90% abgenommen. Es dauert ca. 25 Jahre dauern, bis Haie ihre sexuelle Reife entwickeln, was das für den Nachwuchs heißt, könnt ihr euch ja denken.

Außerdem regulieren die Haie die Population der “Planktonfresser”. Wenn Haie aussterben, dann haben die “Planktonfresser” die Möglichkeit das ganzen Plankton im Meer zu fressen. Pflanzliches Plankton verwandelt Kohlendioxid in Sauerstoff. 50% unseres Sauerstoffs erhalten wir aus dem Meer. Das Leben auf der Erde ist somit von dem Leben im Ozean abhängig.

Das sollte euch mal eine andere Sicht der Dinge geben. Ich hab mir die Doku gerade nochmal angesehen und obwohl ich den Film schon unglaublich oft gesehen habe, bin ich trotzdem jedes Mal schockiert und fasziniert zugleich. Das soll kein verzweifelter Versuch sein, euch zu Tierschützern zu machen, ich wollte euch nur mal zeigen, dass das Klischee “Haie sind böse Tiere, die uns nur fressen wollen” totaler Schrott ist. Wer hier vor wem geschützt werden muss, ist ja wohl offensichtlich…

“The one animal we fear the most is the one we can’t live without.”

www.sharkwater.com

They are too often perceived as a threat but they are the ones endangered. Hunted, mutilated to take their fins, sharks have gone from predator to prey and failing protection they could easily reach extintion within a few years.

Driven by passion, filmmaker Rob Stewart realized “Sharkwater“, a stunning high definition video exploring sharks in all their beauty and pointing at the exploitation and chase that might soon lead to extintion of these incredible creatures.

____________

You might also like: Let’s stop the reef ravages caused by underwater photographers

Les seigneurs de la mer (Sharwater en son titre original) est un documentaire sur le massacre des requins. J’ai réalisé une chronique sur le sujet que vous pouvez lire ici-même.

De plus, voici une bande-annonce, qui je l’espère vous donnera envie de voir ce film (si ma chronique ne vous convainc pas…) qui vient de sortir en DVD d’ailleurs. Je tiens à préciser que dans la bande-annonce, il est annoncé qu’entre 30 et 70 millions de requins sont massacrés chaque année. Dans le film, ils parlent de 100 à 200 millions…

Et tant qu’on est là, je vous invite à visiter la toute nouvelle section “documentaires” qui est apparue aujourd’hui sur ce site et réalisée en collaboration avec Tortillafilms. Elle s’étoffera, je l’espère avec le temps.

images.allmoviephoto.com/2009_The_Cove/2009_t..

Marine Conservation Film Series
At Parker School Theatre Oct. 9th and 10th

Free Admission
Doors open for all films at 5:30 pm on Oct. 9th & 5:00pm on Oct 10th.

October 9th
6pm The End of the Line • 8 pm A Sea Change
9:30 pm Discussion on ocean acidification by Parker School faculty
member & science teacher Patricia Kassis.

October 10th
5:30 pm Sharkwater • 7:00 pm A Life Among Whales
8:30 pm The Cove

Waimea Coffee Company will provide refreshments for
sale before movie & during intermission.
October 11th and October 18th
9am – 11am Talk About the Films
Coffee Shop gathering for all film series participants at
Waimea Coffee Company. Come, have some coffee & discuss
the films seen over the course of the weekend.

Sponsored by: Parker School, The Fairmont Orchid-Hawaii, Four Seasons Resort
Hualalai, Hawaii Gourmet Society (www.hawaiigourmetsociety.com),
Maile Charters, Makani Kai II, Joseph Fagundes, III (www.konalaw.com),
Waimea Coffee Company & Patrick & Anna Sullivan.

Films Series will be shown again at Kahilu Theatre, Waimea 10/16 &10/17

…Sharks evolved 450 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs, and have survived five major extinctions [Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic and Jurassic]. They range from the 9″ pygmy shark to the 40′ whale shark; most live for between 20 and 30 years (some, like the spiny dogfish, up to 100). Far from being the solitary hunters of mythology, sharks are intelligent, social animals, many living in schools with more complex migration patterns than birds. Out of more than 360 species, only three have been involved in a significant number of fatal, unprovoked attacks on humans: the tiger, great white and bull sharks.

But now, thanks to the shark fin [soup] trade and unscrupulous [industrial scale] fishing methods, sharks are facing their greatest ever threat. The shark specialist group of the World Conservation Union claimed recently that almost every species of large shark found in European waters is heading for extinction. There are 13 species classified as critically endangered, meaning their numbers will decrease by 80% within three generations…. estimates that 90% of sharks have disappeared in the past three decades, with up to 100 million being killed a year.

Why should we care?

As apex predators as the top of the ocean’s food chain, sharks are not evolved to be preyed upon, and their lifecycle – slow growing, long living, late breeding – makes it hard for them to cope with sustained attack from driftnets, longlines and bottom trawling.

By removing the top predator we are pushing the ocean ecosystem which we rely on to regulate our climate into an unknown future, which could be potentially disastrous for man. More than 70% of the world is made up of oceans and they are home to algae – plants that range in size from single-celled organisms to massive crops of kelp – which through photosynthesis remove carbon dioxide from the air and produce oxygen [more than all the rainforests on earth]. 

Climate experts such as Sir James Lovelock have declared that algae is perhaps the single most important cooling element on earth… by killing off sharks, smaller sea creatures [ordinarily eaten by the sharks] will flourish and consume greater quantities of algae. The shark is essential…

(Excerpt from an article by Tom de Castella, from the Telegraph Magazine)

If you get chance to see Sharkwater in the cinema or rent it on DVD, do.

For those of you living in the Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver area that might be reading this, try to check out the movie “Sharkwater” between June 19 to 30. In honor of Ocean’s Month, WWF-Canada will be showing the award-winning documentary film on the big screen for free. The film brings people closer than ever to sharks, proving they are not the monsters movies make them out to be. More importantly, the movie highlights just how important they are to the ecosystem.

I saw it at last year’s Green Film Festival here in Seoul. It’s a fantastic film.

I watched this last night, at lululemon (thanks, Gianna!)

It was really eye-openening. What got me most was that if sharks become extinct, and it seems they might if the shark-fin industry continues unchecked, they will no longer be controlling fish populations in the oceans, and those fish will eat more plankton, thereby reducing the world’s oxygen supply. That is a Big Deal.

Click here to donate money towards getting the documentary screened in China.

Also, I know I am preaching to he converted, but a vegetarian diet is really a better option for the planet, in its current state. Or at least, thinking about how the animal products you eat came to be on your plate.

Att vi slösar på mat har vi skrivit om tidigare och att det blir otroliga bifångster vid fiske är ju också någonting som kan anses allmänt känt i miljösverige. Klimatbloggen WWF skrev i går om en ny rapport som återigen bekräftar problematiken. 40 % av fisken som fångas slängs bort.

Den mest slösaktiga formen av fiske är troligtvis hajfensfiske där uppskattningsvis 92 procent av fångsten inklusive de döende, fenlösa hajarna kastas tillbaka. Fenorna exporteras främst till Asien för att ingå i hajfenssoppa. /Tom Arnbom

För er som inte sett det utmärkta filmen Sharkwater så rekommenderar jag den starkt. Klippet nedan från Youtube visar ett utdrag.

Läs mer:

• Otroligt slöseri när fångst inte tas om hand Klimatbloggen WWF
• Hela rapporten från WWF (pdf)

/Daniel Eriksson

Whale Shark in the waters near Útila, Honduras

It’s best to have all of your facts straight!! Taking a stand on something requires a large amount of knowledge. Not just knowledge on why you believe what you believe, but knowledge on how to defend yourself against the opposing view.

If you can spare some time please watch the documentary titled Sharkwater. It will help clear up some preconceived notions about sharks and people as well. It is truly shocking. I have yet to see another film that is as moving. Sharkwater Trailer This documentary will change your life. Without a doubt.

I was watching The National on Friday, when it ran a story on a program called “Reel Canada,” which brings Canadian films to high schools across the country. Not only does it do that, but it brings some of the filmmakers and the actors along for the show! (see the segment here)

Now, forgive me if I’m wrong but I always thought that the ultimate destination for Canadian films was my less-than-riveting Canadian cinema class, and that’s a sad reality for a lot of films. I was really impressed by this program though, and I think it’s a great way to make young Canadians into Canadian film fans.

Although I am not interested in making fiction films, I am lucky enough to go to school with what may or may not be the future of Canadian cinema, yet unfortunately Hollywood is the ultimate goal for most of them. Of course it’s the biggest market and that’s where you go to get rich and famous, but I sincerely hope that some of them stick around. There is a lot of talent and passion in my class and what better way to expend that talent then to serve to strengthen Canada’s own culture and identity through film? Of course not everything that’s made in Canada is great, but there are some real gems in the world of Canadian film. It’s too bad that I doubt if most titles would be recognizable beyond the confines of Canadian university film lecture halls.

It’s really sad that a country as interesting and diverse as our own often has to settle for second rate Hollywood garbage (Yup, I’m thinking of you Paul Blart: Mall Cop(2009)), when we have our own masterpieces to choose from. Away from Her (2006) with Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent is a great example of Canadian cinematic brilliance – in fact Pinsent actually participates in the Reel Canada program visiting high schools alongside his films.

As the saying goes, “the world needs more Canada” and it’s true for film as well. I mean, honestly, why settle for America’s B-list movies when you could be watching Young People Fucking (2007)?

A few Canadian keepers….

Sharkwater (2006)
Le Grand Seduction (2003)
How She Move (2007)
Bon Cop, Bad Cop (2006)
I Met the Walrus (2007)
C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

 I watched this movie today, its called Sharkwater. I borrowed it from my sister, I really don’t know much about it other than it has won something like 22 International film awards, it was filmed and produced by Rob Stewart, and it compelled me to want to do something about a problem I had no idea about. It is about the illegal fishing and poaching of sharks for their fins, the destruction this is having on the shark populations, the destruction this will cause in the ocean’s ecosystem, and how governments worldwide are doing nothing about it.

Sharks have long since been thought of as our enemy, it is believed that sharks have eaten men alive, that they hunt swimmers and snorkelers in the oceans, that they are in general complete mindless monsters. This film discredits that information, and sheds a new light on sharks with some facts that most people don’t know. Like for instance there have been no documented cases of a Hammerhead shark killing a human. I has always thought Hammerheads to be one of the more vicious sharks. Or that in over 95% of recorded shark bites no flesh is removed from the human victim. The shark isn’t eating us, they bite us to see what we are, once they realize we aren’t a seal or potential food they release us. Most bite victims die from loss of blood. Although I find no comfort in knowing I won’t be eaten, I’ll just bleed out, it is interesting to know that they have the capacity to understand we aren’t food.

National Geographic estimates some 38 million sharks are killed annually for their fins as the demand for dried shark fins in Eastern countries for shark fin soup grows exponentially. These estimates come from recent studies using new techniques. They are much higher than the previous estimates from the United Nations of 10 million, however much lower than estimates of conservationists which numbered above 100 million. The numbers themselves prove so difficult to estimate because the industry relies of fisherman to accurately report their catch. Governments seem weary to act and impose regulations on this industry and it may be costing the planet a species. Sharks are slow reproducing, and late to mature. They are essentially the  lions of the ocean, and by allowing them to fished this close to extinction we risk losing the ecosystem’s top predators. That would mean irreversible damage to our planet.

Although progress is being made, there is basically no regulation on the worlds shark fisheries. A handful of countries that have banned shark fishing completely but still struggle with the task of enforcing the law. The Great White, Whale, and Basking shark have recently been added to the list of endangered species which makes it illegal for them to be hunted, but how many more species have to reach the point of endangered or nearing extinction before we do something real about this problem.

The part that angers me is the reasons behind the fishing of the sharks. You see shark meat trades poorly, and really isn’t worth the catch. However it is the fins that the fishermen seek. One pound of dried shark fin will sell for around $200 USD. The shark fin is used in soups, it carries no taste, just a bit of texture, but shows a sign of wealth in Eastern countries. Shark fin is used in pills as a type of herbal form to prevent illness. Although it has been scientifically proven to be useless. Our species can do without shark fin. We don’t need to harvest them to feel rich, especially when it is driving the species to extinction. We don’t need to make a herbal pill out them when it has been proven that the pills don’t work. It should be just as illegal and immoral to kill a shark for any reason other than self defence or in defence of another person who has been mistaken as prey as it is to kill a panda bear, or gorilla or any other endangered species.

I notice a trend in the endangered species list that I find disturbing. Almost all of the species on the list that were put there by over-hunting were never hunted for food or meat, but for things like their fins, or ivory, or fur, or even their hands and feet in the case of gorillas. It’s not that were wiping out species to feed ourselves, its that we are doing it to make jewelry and fancy soup, we are doing it for greed and greed alone. Since 1996 we have lost over 90% of the oceans shark population. The ocean covers 80% of our planet. If we effect the sharks and the ocean ecosystem we effect 80% of our planet. We without a doubt effect ourselves. I somehow seriously doubt that the effect will be positive, and I for one am all for banning shark fishing completely and globally.

I think people should see this movie. I think that Rob Stewart is doing the right thing, and I hope we don’t look back in 50 years and tell our children things like, “When I was a kid there were things called sharks in the water.” I hope we can just bring them to the zoo and let them see the shark exhibits. Our oceans need help, people need to start demanding a change in shark fishing regulations.

Piece of Mind
- Nitewalkar

Information - National Geographic Article, Sharkwater

Tudo o que existe no mundo está ali por uma razão. Na natureza, as coisas também são assim. Deus não colocou nesse mundo nenhuma criatura, à toa, todas teem sua função, mesmo que você não saiba. E porque com os tubarões deveria ser diferente?

Dia desses enquanto zapeava os canais a cabo, assisti Sharkwater, foi um presente e mais um motivo de tristeza. É emocionante ver a luta de um jovem amante da natureza, Rob Stewart. O documentário canadense premiado mostra a batalha dos ambientalistas que defendem a espécie, para preservá-lo nas reservas  naturais da Costa Rica e nas Ilhas Galápagos, lugares conhecidos como “paraísos naturais”, mas que na verdade matam por hora cerca de 10.000 tubarões, o que gradativamente já dizimou 90% da população mundial. Muitas pessoas não sabem o que o tubarão significa no meio da cadeia alimentar e do ecossistema marinho e da vida em geral.

As pessoas costumam sentir medo dos tubarões, mas na verdade, atacar humanos não é a natureza deles. Apenas 10% de todas as espécies já os atacaram por razões que vão desde a destruição dos alimentos desses animais, ou pelo simples fato de eles serem atraídos quando há muito movimento na água, ou ainda, pelo fato de eles não enxergarem bem, e irem até o que eles imaginam ser uma presa, por dedução. Eles devem pensar, “será que é minha comida?”. Mas, é claro, que não é tão simples assim.

Poucas pessoas entendem, ou admiram tubarões. Ninguém precisa gostar deles, o que é necessário, é respeitar a espécie como parte da natureza. A maioria das pessoas acha as focas muito doces, e a imagem de simpatia é automática, elas realmente são mais acostumadas com humanos, mas não se engane por isso. O que muita gente não sabe, é que as focas comem peixes, e devoram pequenos animais, da mesma forma que os tubarões.

Se tantos querem proteger as focas, porque não proteger os tubarões? São habitantes da vida marinha e merecem igual consideração. O negócio lucrativo da venda de barbatanas de tubarão incrementa os mercados que geram milhões de dólares de lucro, na Costa Rica e na Ásia todos os dias. Há pesca com rede, com anzol e até com explosivos. As cenas são fortes, fazem pensar, fazem querer gritar, e me fizeram pensar na dor do criador ao ver tudo isso.

As barbatanas são extirpadas do tubarão ainda vivo. Além da extrema crueldade, os restos quase mortais são jogados no mar. Alguns pescadores se divertem em mostrar para as câmeras o fato de eles ainda mexerem os olhos. Será que eles são menos assassinos do que os que matam seres humanos? Porque eles gozam de liberdade, e de um cenário exuberante que estão empenhados ou cegos enquanto destroem? A natureza sofre calada e depois dá o troco, o valor pode ser alto demais para os seres humanos.

Não consigo mais imaginar onde vamos parar. Muitas vezes, sinto certo nojo de ser humana. É por isso que tem gente que conversa com seus cachorros. Tolice pensar que eles não nos entendem. Nós é que não chegamos aos pés deles.

Trailer do documentário com legendas em português

PROTECT AND SHARE

SHARKWATER isn’t a surf flick, but watching this film as a surfer will show you the issues fellow humans are causing. SHARKWATER is a great film for anyone, surfer or not, and definitely worth your attention. Telling a story of why we need to start looking after these creatures before we cause irreversible damage to our ecosystem.

mesurf Review:
I have to admit I was pretty taken back by this film, and I don’t stir easily. I have always loved the ocean and it’s creatures, but I do remember a time when I was younger, when I didn’t really care what was happening to sharks, and actually saw them as a pest and no need for them. As I became a little older and wiser I began to realise that these creatures are less of a threat than fellow human beings that I am faced with every day, and now find myself in arguments with others who just don’t get that WE ARE THE ENEMY not the other way around.

click here to read the full review

Every year the TED Conference has amazing guest speakers. My favorites from this year were Bill Gates and Sylvia Earle. Earle’s presentation about the destruction of the oceans had the same eye-opening effect that Sharkwater had on me last year. I highly recommend watching  Sylvia Earle’s video. Also, trailer for Sharkwater after the jump.

I’ve recently been looking for marine-related volunteer opportunities. Ideally, I would like someone with an awesome boat to take me out to catch, tag and study monster sized sharks amidst thunderous seas for the purposes science. Realistically, I would be happy pulling plastic bags off of sea turtles or something.

If anybody knows of any volunteer opportunities in the Miami area please let me know.

Back at Sundance – Day #1

After two years away due to the initial AFI DALLAS launch and scheduling issues the second year, I’m back in Park City to get a head start working on the films we’ll be picking up, get some face time with the journalists in town and possibly help Artistic Director Michael Cain and the programming dynamic Dallas duo of James Faust and Sarah Harris maybe find a couple more must haves that they somehow didn’t catch in their exhaustive non-stop movie search. Oh – and I’m also doing a Sundance story for Envy Magazine as they continue to stretch the boundaries of the “local social/ entertainment” magazine.

First impression – the reminder that you can’t park a car in Park City. Unless of course, you have a roll of bills like a mobster at hand to pay or you won the parking lottery. Point is – they don’t want you to park here. They don’t want you to have even owned a car. Ever. It’s understandable why. I mean, of course, I get it. And the public transpo is great. But there’s kind of an angry aggressiveness about the parking moratorium. And the tow trucks? Like sharks. Trolling for cars left behind by the weak-willed and desperate to make a movie or a meeting.

Scary. If you happen to have a car here – like me.

Anyway, if you’ve been here before then you know the drill and if you haven’t, you’ll learn fast. And ultimately, you won’t care because it’s all about the movies. Because if you’re here, even if it is for work, you likely view movies a little differently than the general public. At my first press screening, I asked a guy what he had seen that he had loved. He said, “I haven’t fallen in love yet, but I would sleep with PAPER HEART.” He also said he would have a one-night stand with LYMELIFE. Which leads me to think he would also buy PAPER HEART dinner a couple times as well.

The first film I saw was BIG FAN. The film follows a sad sack parking lot attendant who loves his New York Football Giants like no other. Until a disastrous incident occurs during a flukish meeting with his all-time favorite player, that is. I’m interviewing Patton Oswalt, the star of the film, tomorrow – AND I had insider info that it was gonna be a good one so I was looking forward to it. And it didn’t disappoint. It’s funny in a “real” way and it’s not afraid to go to some serious places you wouldn’t expect of Mr. Oswalt. But not earnest Oscar grab kind of going to those places. Probably because that sort of play would never enter Patton’s head in the first place. Written and directed by Robert Siegel with the same unflinching look at both the humor and you have to say it – pathos, that he brought to the script for THE WRESTLER. There’s also a nice understated turn by Kevin Corrigan as Oswalt’s character’s partner in fandom. The film draws conclusions that may not be the best on paper for all concerned, but (and I’m going to hate myself as I write this) that’s why they play the game. Finally, BIG FAN has, hands down, one of the best payoffs I have seen in a very long time.

Nice start, huh?

Film number two was THE COVE. Again, I was looking forward to this one from the moment I heard about it. The film is an expose’ on the dolphin industry and in particular the wholesale slaughter of dolphins that takes place in a little cove in Taiji, Japan. And it is as riveting as it gets as we follow a group of activists who hatch and execute an elaborate OCEAN’S 11-type operation for the express purpose of filming and documenting what goes on there. Led by Ric O’Barry who has been on a crusade for some 35 years to thwart an industry he feels greatly responsible for inspiring due to his work as a dolphin trainer on the original FLIPPER TV series, the group and the film work toward unmasking the many wrongs – animal cruelty to the nth degree and the willful spread of mercury poisoning to the entire country (with an emphasis on their children) among them. THE COVE invites immediate comparisons to SHARKWATER, which we had at AFI DALLAS in 2007 and which won the prize for Best HD Feature. And that comparison weighs very heavily in THE COVE’s favor. While SHARKWATER’s campaign against the illegal shark finning industry was easily just as genuine, it was burdened by the weighty ego of its filmmaker and “star.” O’Barry and the principals involved with THE COVE never waver on where their focus and concern lies –with a species with an intelligence and self awareness that could possibly exceed our own. And our kind’s typical bent to destroy that. Don’t miss this film when you get the chance to see it.

Number three? Chris Rock’s documentary, GOOD HAIR. This was an eye opener. Black women’s (and some men’s) love affair with relaxer (or “creamy crack”) and weaves is equal parts hilarious and frightening. Not surprising, mind you. Not when, as Nia Long describes the desire for “white hair” – there has long been a steady drumbeat for generations of black women to seek “the lighter, the brighter, the better,” as she says. To see what the principal chemical component in relaxer can do to a coke can in 3 or 4 hours is bad enough. Realizing that same stuff is being put on the heads of children after hearing the horror stories of the scalp burn from people like Ice T (yes, that Ice T), places it in a whole other arena. And then there are the secret societies of women with weaves, descriptions of how they pay thousands upon thousands of dollars for those weaves and how women in India literally have their hair “stolen” – cut off while they’re asleep or watching a movie in a theater – to fulfill that demand/obsession. It’s a lot to take in. And while I laughed throughout, I actually have gained much empathy for the men who must negotiate their way around their woman’s weave. Because, Rock makes it very clear – she may be worth it, but that’s some heavy lifting.

Finally, it was off to Slamdance to see a film we are romancing to bring to AFI DALLAS – ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE UNDEAD. First off, there was a gift bag on the seat for everyone attending the premiere with a poster, fangs, t-shirt, etc. Thoughtful. Vampire thoughtful. And the film was proceeded by a short film – bonus, right? Entitled HORSEFINGERS 3: STARFUCKER, it was everything you would hope from a twisted bizzaro little short about romance and tough it is already to date without also having to work around having two giant hooves (or “horsefingers”) on your hands.
While describing the film, the director (Kirsten Kearse) had the second best quote of the day, “People are boring. But put them in animal outfit…”

As far as the feature presentation is concerned, what can you say about a film that follows a theater director’s struggles as he finds himself caught in the middle of a two thousand year out conspiracy involving Shakespeare, the Holy Grail and vampires? It was funny, it was silly, it was inventive. That’s what you can say. You can also say it starred Jake Hoffman (displaying some natural dead pan talent), Devon Aoki, Ralph Macchio and Jeremy Sisto among an eclectic cast. And music by Sean Lennon. Mind you, I saw the film during its world premiere which might have doubled as a cast and crew screening so it was a mad house and a very happy, giddy mad house. But Jordan Galland’s dead little valentine would have held its own regardless and brought the funny. This will be a fun movie to have in Dallas and a great cast to have on a red carpet.