Bone Shark Island
Hidden in the centre of the Atlantic Ocean, St Helena is one of the most remote islands in the world. But this tiny island is a beacon to the largest fish in the ocean; the whale shark, known locally as bone shark.
These endangered gentle giants arrive in huge numbers every year, but for such an enormous animal, they are hard to follow, disappearing back into the depths. Much of their lives remains a mystery; no-one knows why they come, where they come from or where they go...
But now the bone sharks are beginning to reveal their secrets, and it seems St Helena's tropical waters might offer a romantic destination for them, creating a speed-dating hotspot for the world's largest fish.
Film by Swimming Head Productions
With thanks to the St Helena National Trust and wider community
Funded by the FSBI
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Natasha PhillipsDirectorSecrets of the Basking Shark
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Natasha PhillipsProducerSecrets of the Basking Shark
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Lawrence EaglingCinematographerSecrets of the Basking Shark
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Project Type:Documentary, Short
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Runtime:5 minutes 43 seconds
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
Tasha Phillips is an early-career director based in Cornwall, specialising in documentary shorts. After beginning her career as a marine biologist, her transition into film came through a passion for the communication of complex issues through engaging storytelling. She is a National Geographic Explorer, drawing on her endless curiosity and a forensic eye for detail to direct documentaries exploring fascinating stories from new scientific discoveries, to compelling natural history stories and modern social issues.
Despite being the largest fish in the ocean, with an important role in global marine ecosystems and hugely valuable to coastal communities through ecotourism, the whale shark remains an endangered species.
The sharks' nomadic travels and mysterious lives in the open ocean means that protections are hard to enforce, and little is known about them including how many sharks there are, where they travel or where they breed. But all this is about to change...
This short film aims to reveal exciting new elements about the lives of whale sharks, by exploring local research efforts from the tiny remote island of St Helena. St Helena is a whale shark hotspot in the central Atlantic Ocean. Known locally as bone shark, we follow Kenickie Andrews, a marine biologist from the island, who monitors the bone sharks arriving each year, giving them names and sharing his experience with the wider community.
