If you are told about destinations where you can encounter sharks in their natural habitat, exotic places at the ends of the earth immediately come to mind. But do you know that the largest great white shark ever caught in the world (over six meters and two tonnes!) was in Malta, just a few hundred meters from the shore?
The largest ever preserved great white shark, conserved at the Lausanne Museum (Switzerland) © Stéphane GranzottoThe documentaryJust a century ago, it was here, in the Mediterranean, that one could frequently encounter them. Our sea was then the kingdom of blue sharks, mako sharks, hammerhead sharks, and other great white sharks as the Mediterranean was teeming with fish. Where have these great sharks gone? Do they survive in some secret places? The film « Mediterranean, the Lost Kingdom of Sharks » invites you to explore this forgotten kingdom and the sharks that ruled there…
Broadcast in 2013 on France 2, this 51-minute documentary by Stéphane Granzotto and François Sarano (co-produced by Mona Lisa Production and Label Bleu Production with the participation of France Télévisions) is re-broadcast Sunday, June 26, 2016, at 16:25. Shot between France, Italy, and Tunisia, the striking images should fascinate you.
Watch the trailer here.
Like the great white shark, the mako shark has become very rare in the Mediterranean © François SaranoA note from the directors
• Stéphane Granzotto (director and author)
« For many people, the Mediterranean Sea remains a simple tourist destination in a modern society that too often turns its back on the wild and nature. Among all its unsuspected inhabitants, many shark species live there. So why don’t we see them more often? Where do these sharks live? Is it possible to observe them, to swim with them? These are the questions that this film raises, and the challenges we had to face with the filming team for this documentary. Three years at sea were necessary for this work to film the sequences François Sarano and I had envisioned. »
• François Sarano (director, author, and oceanographer)
« The Mediterranean, far from being an empty sea, was a lush kingdom where fish, turtles, dolphins, whales thrived, and where great sharks reigned. Encountering them instills admiration, brings peace, and changes you forever. Like all predators, they can only live within a healthy ecosystem. Thus, their quest leads us to the heart of the last wild places where the great Mediterranean fauna is found. Thanks to sharks, we explore a sumptuous, inspiring Mediterranean. We have everything to gain by sharing the Mediterranean with sharks because they are the guarantors of their kingdom’s prosperity. »
The cover image of the great white shark is by François Sarano.
Morgane CONSTANTIN
Save
Save
Save