July 25, 2008

Hi All!  Great news!

Shark Angels - our short documentary film that aims to conserve and protect sharks by giving everyone a new perspective - is being shown at the Wavescapes/IFC Film Festival in Durban, South Africa.

The screening will be at the KwaSuka Theatre, Thursday 31 July at 6pm.  I will be there representing the Angels all the way from the states and would love for you to join me. (More about the Shark Angels project is below...)

And, please please please invite everyone you know... We are eager to get the word out! Any help with press and PR is greatly appreciated as well...

Please check out the festival program at:
http://www.wavescape.co.za/wavescapes-film-festival/index.php
(We will be showing Sharkwater on Friday night as well - I will be there representing Rob in a Q&A after the film...)

Hope to see you there!
Julie Andersen

Shark Angels Premieres in South Africa

The highly anticipated short documentary, aiming to shift the public's view of sharks and focus much needed attention on their conservation, will premiere in Durban, South Africa at the Wavescapes/IFC Film Festival on July 31st.  Julie Andersen, a Founder and Director of Shark Savers, and one of the three Shark Angels will be in attendance to host a discussion about their mission after the screening.

Join three exceptional young women -  Julie Andersen, founder of Shark Savers, Alison Kock, marine biologist for Save our Seas, and Kim McCoy, Executive Director of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - on an adventure of a lifetime to experience, celebrate and protect what are often considered the most dangerous animals on the planet: sharks.

Their goal?  To get up close & personal, outside the safety of cages, with what are considered the world's most dangerous sharks and give the world a new perspective on sharks, proving they aren't what they seem. And, to save the fiercest predators on the planet that now desperately need their help.

The film, directed and produced by Shawn Heinrichs of Blue Sphere Media , with Eric Cheng of WetPixel serving as Director of Photography, marks the beginning of the Shark Angels television series, in which viewers can join the Angels on their adventures around the world, as the Angels challenge myths about different shark species, explore the wonders of the oceans, spread their powerful message and come face to face with the villains destroying their beloved sharks. From Fiji to Australia to South Africa to the Bahamas, they journey to different locations, each time encountering new shark species, new conflicts and new enemies.

The Shark Angels represent the new generation of shark conservationists -- cool, capable, educated and young -- and have brought their organizations together for the first time to combat the myths about sharks and expose the sad truth that sharks are being chased to extinction. The Shark Angels believe that society's irrational fear of sharks explains the general lack of desire to protect and conserve them. Through awareness and understanding, they aim to change that and ensure that sharks survive to play their important role in maintaining the oceans -- and ultimately, humankind's own survival.