Great White Shark

Great White Shark, a new IMAX film in 3D and 2D now out in the U.S. and Canada, unravels the mystery of the creature we love to fear—the much maligned, misrepresented and misunderstood great white shark—and dives into the depths of human daring to tell the true story of its role atop the oceanic food chain.

“Our mission is to change people’s attitudes toward the great white,” said Steve McNicholas, co-director of the film. “It’s not the menacing, evil predator it’s made out to be. It’s simply performing its crucial role at the top of the ocean’s food chain. Great whites are not monsters any more than the polar bears or lions that we revere.”

Three years in the making, Great White Shark takes viewers around the world to great white hotspots: the crystal clear waters of Mexico’s legendary Guadalupe Island; newly-discovered shark territory around Stewart Island off the southernmost tip of New Zealand; the bone-chilling waters of South Africa’s ‘flying’ great whites; and finally to the California coast near heavily-populated Los Angeles. The film examines what we know about these incredible animals through the eyes of several people whose lives and work have become inextricably linked to the great white.

Using revolutionary high-speed, digital IMAX cameras in South Africa, filmmakers captured the great white breaching for the first time in 3D. The film is available in 2D and 3D versions. Distributed by Giant Screen Films, Great White Shark is produced by Yes/No Productions and Liquid Pictures 3D. It’s narrated by acclaimed stage and film actor Bill Nighy.

To gain worldwide awareness of the plight of all sharks, Great White Shark has teamed with notable international conservation organizations Oceana and WildAid to educate viewers about the fate of sharks at the hands of man, Earth’s most formidable predator.

“Over one-third of all open-ocean shark species are endangered and up to 73 million sharks are killed by fishermen every year to make shark fin soup that is sold throughout Asia,” Peter Knights, the Executive Director of WildAid, said. “A shark is finned and 98 per cent of the shark is dumped back into the ocean to die.”

Dr. Geoff Shester, California Program Director of Oceana, said that juvenile great whites are regularly caught as by-catch in gillnets in certain fisheries off California and Mexico, yet scientists estimate only a few hundred adult and juvenile great white sharks remain in the entire West Coast population. Oceana is working to protect this population of great whites by winning endangered species status for these sharks from the State of California and U.S. federal government.

“Their future is now in our hands,” said Shester. “Listing great white sharks as an endangered species is the best way to afford reasonable protections from fishing, while promoting research to ensure they remain part of the ocean ecosystem for another million years to come.

“WildAid is very pleased to be associated with this film that will help us raise public awareness and educate people about the real danger to sharks.”

D.J. Roller, Producer and Director of Photography for Great White Shark, said the film dazzles because his uniquely designed camera enabled him to capture much higher resolution and better slow motion underwater than ever before.

“We were determined to bring audiences something truly ground-breaking in a shark film,” he said.

Great White Shark can now be found in some IMAX theatres around North America.

Film Facts:

Film Type:  Documentary
Duration:  40 minutes
Distributor:  Giant Screen Films
Principal Photography:  October 2009 – October 2012
Directors:  Luke Cresswell & Steve McNicholas
Producers:  Luke Cresswell, Steve McNicholas, D.J. Roller, David Marks and Don Kempf
Director Of Photography:  D.J. Roller
Website:  www.greatwhitesharkfilm.com
Support: www.oceana.org  /  www.wildaid.org  /  www.bite-back.com