Shark Film a Hit

You get the sold-out, vibey, intimate premiere of the film Surfing and Sharks at the Labia Cinema last night. The double full house (both cinemas were full) was testimony to the fascination that surfers have with sharks, but not only that, it also highlighted the fascination that the general public has with sharks and how surfers deal with being at the 'frontline' of interaction with this apex predator.

Virtually the entire crew of the film turned out, including director Julian Watson and producer Joep Van Oppen who flew out from Australia and the Netherlands respectively.

Also present were Peter and Georgina Verhoog, joint heads of the Save Our Seas Foundation who gave financial backing to the project. Nicky Greenwall from eTV was spotted among the crowd, as were a host of pro, amateur, recreational and highway surfers.

Outside the crowd - a unique demographic blend of art, surf, and science - thronged and heaved, dispatching 25 cases of Grolsch and who knows how may packs of popcorn. There was something intimate and cozy as friends hung with friends.

Inside Cinema 1 and the overflow to Cinema 2, which was full, audiences hooted and cheered at the antics of the stars of the film, Andrew Roosta Lange, Avuyile Nsamase, and Lungani Memani, who were all present, the two Xhosa surfers having been flown by Wavescape especially for the premiere.

Spike thanked the sponsors Pick n Pay, as well as associate partners Save Our Seas Foundation, Rip Curl, Bos Iced Tea, Cape Town TV, GoPro, Men's Health, Cape Times and the Bomb Surf, becfore introducing co-producer Chris Mason from Wavescape who told the crowd a little bit about the project.

The film documents a surf trip in winter this year by the three as they travel the coast surfing, and talking about sharks and their experiences. Along the way, they score heaving 15' bombs on the South Coast, as well as sublime surf at a range of locations during this year's crazy purple patch of winter swell.

There is something gentle and moving about the film, interlaced with humour. It climaxes when the three go free-shark diving on the Aliwal Shoal.

Avuyile or "Avo" hails from Port St Johns, where his home break Second Beach is still closed after a disproportionate number of shark attacks in recent years. Avo lost his younger brother Zama to a Zambezi shark in January this year. This is the story we ran. He now lives in Port Elizabeth. Lungani was a development programme prodige who hails from Port Alfred.

Chats with shark bite victims such as Andrew Carter, bitten at his home break Nahoon Reef, were juxtaposed with fascinating interviews with specialists such as ocean personality Olivia Symcox, shark scientist Alison Kock, veteran dive adventurer Mark Addison, Chris Nefferson of the KZN Sharks Board and Shark Angel founder Julie Anderson.

The movie attracted a huge amount of interest prior to the premiere, and social network sites were abuzz for weeks before.

See more photos in our slideshow here