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Secrets of the Basking Shark

Beneath the waves lies another world, one of strange beauty and deep secrets. In this film we seek to explore and understand a mysterious, endangered creature that despite reaching 12m in length, usually swims by our shores unnoticed, the basking shark.

Travelling with the sharks on their northerly migration, we speak to former shark hunters about dangerous battles with giant fish, explore scientific tagging studies that take us across oceans, and meet the people fighting for their future. Join us as we dive into the underwater world of the shark.

  • Natasha Phillips
    Director
  • Lawrence Eagling
    Producer
  • Natasha Phillips
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Natural History, Science, Wildlife, Marine
  • Runtime:
    24 minutes 29 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 13, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    Ireland, United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Natasha Phillips

Natasha Phillips is an early-career director based in Cornwall, specialising in short, documentary films. After beginning her career as a scientist, 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 ancient history and modern social issues.

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Director Statement

As a former academic turned natural history filmmaker, I aim to combine science and film, exploring new insights into the natural world. This film arose from my years as a shark scientist, taking the audience behind-the-scenes to explore the secret world of sharks. There is a popular belief that swimming with sharks is an exotic luxury, and so here we aim to showcase a beautiful species in local waters.

I would love this film to be selected, to showcase a rare native shark, explore previously unheard community stories and offer intimate access to these 12m giants. New scientific findings often remain out of sight behind academic paywalls so here we aim to share new research as told by the scientists themselves.

Basking sharks are skilful at remaining out of sight beneath the waves, but being out of sight often means out of mind. By taking the audience on a journey with the sharks along their northerly migration, we can gain a new perspective, exploring the sharks’ troubled history and the challenges of conservation. As negative news can be overwhelming, I aim to highlight that the sharks’ future is becoming brighter, to share a story of hope, showing the amazing collection of people coming together to fight for their future.

The most exciting element of this film is that following co-ordinated efforts from our widespread scientific collaborators, supported by public petitions, basking sharks have just received legal protection for the first time in Irish waters and our film was credited with having 'help[ed] to get protections over the line' -Dr Berrow. We are so proud in having played a small part in helping to achieve this essential goal.

My main aim for this film is to share this exciting story, aiming for new understanding and conservation efforts, exploring secrets of the basking shark.