The carver working their knife, whittling on a piece of red cedar…even they do not work alone. They carry with them the voices of conversations from the past. Their thoughts of interactions make their way into each cut. Their past makes its way into the chess piece, the spoon, the spindle, the art.

My red cedar was an external hard drive from South Africa. I had no idea what was on it. I didn’t know any of the numerous interview subjects thereupon. But that hard drive only existed because of how another person was moved to help tell the story of the plight of Great White Sharks. And he was informed from his time working with the nearly extinct Vaquita in Mexico. And he had footage because two women flew in from other countries to help him film. And they had success because of other volunteers who helped them along the way.

When it comes to who made what…the list just keeps expanding.

The art suffers when respect is not paid to the predecessors that came before. It’s loses the value when we drop into thinking it’s “ours”. And really the list is so long…all the moments that lead up to what we would call a finished product…that it can’t be calculated. Saying anything is “mine”, really, loses all meaning. I think we should just start saying, “we made this for us, because of us.”

This movie was needed and the time was right and I happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right team and support system.

What I can say accurately is that I crafted the movie on the timeline and that the only reason I was able to have the time to do so was because a friend, who believed in my work, died at a young age…and that friend had placed me in her Will. I received money from her settlement just as I was pondering how I could find a way to financially wrangle making this movie with my CoDirector. Before she died she specifically asked me to use the money for one of my conservation projects. And so I have. I made two projects actually…The Last Shark is the second one. Her contribution to this work is the only reason I was able to find the time to complete the movie at all. Her money funded my entire living costs from May of 2023 to this very day…December 12, 2023.

Today finds me on one of my last nights at yet another housesitting gig. Northern Vermont. A cute but modern log cabin in the Northern woods. The power went out today due to a winter storm. I had nothing but silence and the wood burning stove to keep me company. And mostly what I thought about was how long it’s taken me in life to stop taking full credit for the things that I have accomplished. Taking credit is an interesting thing. At some points in our early years it’s critical to not make ourselves small and taking credit is part of seeing our own value. But at the ripe age of 52, something I am very grateful for is following the threads to all the things that lead to a good thing in the world and realizing that all credit actually starts in the past and moves forward into the future. Getting to be a part of something as positive as The Last Shark documentary has been an immense honor. But I am just a part of it. I feel like it is one of those rare things one gets to do only once or so in life. Where you know you got to be a part of something larger than yourself in an obvious way.

What I also learned is that you have to bring everyone into the room. That’s really important. Building community is what it’s going to take to tackle climate change, species loss, ending suffering. Tending to the contributions and sacrifices that others make to support the film is just as important as making the film.

I also am in the same cabin where I completed making the movie. The final exports happened here. And it’s also here and also today, two days before I change houses again…that I decided to exit the project.

This post is sort of my goodbye letter. I will still be wrapping up some loose ends but yeah…today marks the day I stepped out officially.

I make movies. And videos. That’s what I do. I love doing it. This movie premiered over a month ago now…and I realized today that though there is still plenty of work to do on outreach and more screenings and so forth…but my share of the work has already been completed.

For me, everything I had to give is there in the movie. Everything that I could give creatively, is in every single cut. And yes, I didn’t do it alone. People ask me, after seeing the movie “but what should we do now?” That’s the question…always. At the end of every screening of any movie I have been involved with that is the question. Because we are always talking about reversing the destruction of our home. It’s a good question. I personally don’t see a movie as having the answer. I see a movie as informing people to decide IF they want to do something about finding an answer. And I think that it starts with community and built of inspired individuals. That’s the whole reason I make movies. In hopes of informing and inspiring.

Leaving this project is a very tough decision. And it will take some disentangling for sure. But pointing to the fact that I haven’t had income for 6 months now…is I think reason enough for me to say that at some point-I simply have to find the exit. I have given up relationships, having a home, and I have gone through quite a lot of my savings.

I will really miss working with my CoDirector, Frankie. We have had a WILD ride. We have never met in real life. It’s all been virtual. And we began talking for the first time about this project on December 22, 2022.

I will say that this is my first time CoDirecting and HOLY SHIT…do not enter into that space lightly my friends. I can laugh when I say that now. But it’s a whole different thing than being a solo director and it will require a whole new skill set to make it through. Frankie and I managed it though. The movie exists as proof of how we were able to work together.

Frankie will continue moving on with the movie in South Africa and I wish her all the best with that. There are some big things in process that we hope will come to fruition in terms of getting the message out there.

The movie has created a lot of momentum and I truly hope that people even are moved to protest peacefully and find ways to lobby the government to get the nets out. And finally I hope that the movie makes its way around the globe so that more people can learn to love sharks instead of only fearing them.

As for me…letting go of the day to day Last Shark comms will be a new experience. This has been my full time job for so long now. I don’t know what I will do next…besides hopefully find some paid work to refill the coffers. I will leave this lovely cabin in two days. Then kick around VT for about a week. Then head to visit my adult kids for Christmas. Then it’s off to Chicago for housesitting gig for 8 days. Hmmm New Years Eve in Chicago? lol…should be interesting!

Then I am back to the shores of Lake Champlain in VT, in Burlington for my next housesitting gig for two months. After that…? Well, I have been trying to make time to go to volunteer in Ukraine for this non profit that I run social media for. I am hoping to fit that in before Summer. And then I am looking at moving to live near my kids in the Midwest.

So that’s it really. I am just so grateful for everyone that made this movie exist. Thrilled that I got to play a role in The Last Shark. I am glad to see that so many people care about the planet after all.

CoDirector of The Last Shark signing off! 🙂

Here is a pic of me reading in the cozy cabin before typing this up…

The Last Shark is my fourth feature length enviro documentary film. And I have to say that whenever an article comes out, about a film, they always misquote some important truth or bungle a statistic.

But in this case I feel like the Daily Maverick did an excellent job. A very well reported article. I still do think that interviewing the folks who have the job of capturing and killing sharks…and asking them what they think about shark conservation, is sort of missing the point…but I get that the reporters need to create the “balanced” viewpoints.

All in all, a very good article. Well done. Click photo to read full article:

(from the CoDirector and Editor: Charlie)

Things are moving fast. It’s been that way from start. Frankie and I got the hard drive in June of 2023. It had all the files from filming in 2021. For more on that backstory check HERE.

Since then it’s been what we call a “sprinting marathon” to finish the movie by November, for a Premiere in Capetown, South Africa. Tonight I watched the final 10 minutes of the movie’s fourth screening via our narrator’s whatsapp video stream…along with the audience at The Commons in Muizenberg. I was able to see how absolutely riveted and focussed the audience was on the movie. For a venue that serves also as a bar and restaurant, the place was surprisingly absent of all cross chatter. I got to watch Jake (one of our two social media interns) working the merch table, slinging our logo T-shirts, stickers and baseball hats. Ariel, our narrator’s young daughter, even held court at the end of the movie, holding hands with Frankie front and center and helped Frankie make the closing remarks and start a lenghty Q&A session with the audience. Below is a pic of Candice and Kholo, who totally knocked it out of the park with helping us get everything ready at The Commons. Kholo is their tech and sound guy and Candice managed all the other details so fricking well. It was a pleasure working with them.

Frankie and I have now very different roles that we weren’t expecting. She has to work hard to stay on track and lively and well rested while on tour – similar to being in a band. Her task is about 10 times larger than we thought it would be. Originally we thought we would have perhaps 3 screenings in all of South Africa. There’s now many more than that. We just had no idea how much energy and enthusiasm there would be for this story to be told. Her schedule is packed. She’s being contacted by different interests internationally. It’s sort of surreal for both of us.

As the CoDirector, I can’t say its easy being so far away from the action of the screenings. I absolutely wish it had been realistic for both of us to fly over to SA financially and logistically. But things in life have a habit of work out interestingly. I have jumped into new roles.

I am helping to organize the tech situation at each venue before Frankie arrives so that everything goes smoothly. As of this moment, from Nov 7-December 12 there are 16 scheduled screenings. That means getting up at 5 AM, since by then it’s already noon over there-to work things out at each different venue via whatsapp and email. For example, right now it’s 2:30 PM here in the USA and I have only just now stopped “working” for the first time since before 7 AM. I should probably eat something now!

My other role is to look forward to other screenings around the world outside of South Africa. Chatting with shark conservationists where I can find them and seeing if they would like to host screenings once the tour in South Africa is over in mid December. If all goes according to plan…I would travel with the film beginning in January hitting venues in countries and building international support for removing the nets and transforming the Sharks Board. Frankie’s plan is to stay in South Africa and work on continuing educational projects on this topic.

We feel like with this approach we are giving the sharks the best chance for having this message be heard: No more shark nets.

Meanwhile, back in SA…tomorrow nigt we have another screening that sold out at a venue called Jack Black. The venue was so kind to us! They offered to open up another space for viewing and allowed 30 additional people to see the movie. That brings up the total to around 150 viewers for that one showing.

And as always both Frankie and I have our ears open for any hint of funding to help keep this whole thing moving forward. The Gofundme has helped but we are back down to our personal funds once again.

Any Angel donors out there want to help fund this important work? 🙂

https://www.change.org/p/transform-kwazulu-natal-sharks-board-to-protect-both-sharks-and-humans?fbclid=IwAR39jJXeUV6e6cCO4xEWuGn3qfEXjXEyjwRRtEjvCGQxvWQpDnTf7JZI5f8

And

Feeling so proud today!! Because this amazing article just got sent my way from Kim Sharklady Maclean. She’s in the movie and her company Sharklady Adventures is one of our collaborators. The presentation in this paper is just so well done and pleasing to the eye.

And I love it that they dropped in the entire full sized poster from our graphics guy Ben Wiid.

Yesterday Frankie and I were interviewed on a really fascinating show called The Daily Jaws. Ross is the host of the show and I gotta say it is not what we expected. It was just so lovely and fascinating to be interviewed about shark conservation…on a show that get its namesake from their love of the JAWS movie. Fun full circles.

Tune in and check it out!

Okay well this is a very strange feeling. I woke up with the same mindset I have had for the last 5 months. Which, in essence, was something like this: “GO GO GO CREATE CREATE CREATE AND DON’T FORGET TO EAT NOW AND THEN” And that’s been my life while making The Last Shark. To the exclusion of all else, that’s what it took to make it. And yesterday at approximately 9 AM…I finished making it. I sent it via WeTransfer to the Premiere venue in Capetown for conversion and testing on their sound system. But I was so exhausted and worn out by then…there were still so many things to organize that I didn’t even clock that moment as significant. I sent the 9 GB file from a friend’s house because they have a fiber internet connection. My friend’s took one look at me and said “you look haggard”. Frankie and I didn’t even take the time to celebrate or talk about the fact that the finish line had been crossed. That’s how busy things have been with lining up screenings.

I took an afternoon nap because I couldn’t stay awake any longer…I woke up and worked until 10 on screenings logistics.

Now here I am. In bed. In Vermont. And I just had a call with Frankie, in South Africa where I realized that there’s really nothing left for me to create. And…now it’s hitting me. I did cross the finish line. It’s done. She has about 16 screenings that she is personally attending and speaking at there. Her work is far from done. But my work of crafting that film, of Directing and scripting and shaping and living on that timeline…it’s completely over. Wow. I have been carrying my role in this project for a year and just like that, it’s done.

I literally have no idea what to do with myself now. How strange. Making a movie has got to be one of the strangest of endeavors.

How the Movie Got Made

 Today I am able to finally have perspective on this entire process because we have passed the hurdle of “picturelock”. And wow, it’s a LOT to process. I had no idea how complex this undertaking would be.

So today as I waited for my dirty hot chocolate order I looked out and noticed birds, colors, people, cars, clouds, leaves and I realized how much, over the last 5 months, that I have looked…but I wasn’t really seeing.

I feel like I am just now realizing there is an entire world out here and wow. It’s a paradox right? As the Editor and Co-Director (but really more as the Editor) you go head down into this narrow and isolated path, away from people, away from the world. It’s you, it’s two large screens, it’s Premiere Pro, it’s an editing timeline with over a thousand cuts and multiples of layers of tiny little rectangles. You start to actually dream about the timeline. Your life, in essence IS that timeline. It’s all you think about. 

It’s a strange fact that in order to focus hard enough to make a movie that will impact people and the world around you, you have to remove yourself from it for a time. So strange. But so worth it-if you don’t take it too far. 

I want the reader of this post to know some of the backstory of how this movie got made…

In the beginning-Dewett
Dewett is the original Director. He ran the filming and originated the idea to make a movie about the shark nets in the KZN, back in 2021. Dewett and Frankie both tried to find an editor for the project after they finished filming in 2021 but it never panned out. Why? Because it’s really hard to find funding for movies that matter. They both had to get back to work as they ran out of personal money. Also the covid pandemic affected momentum. After interviewing 24 shark conservation minded folks..they had to take an indefinite pause on the work.

Charlie Meets Frankie

Frankie is the Director and Producer. We first started talking on Facebook December of 2022. Frankie pushed hard to find a way to make the movie and mentioned to me that if an editor could be found that she would also volunteer her time to see it through. I had no idea what I was in for but the information about the demise of sharks and the involvement of shark nets was just too much to ignore.  So I signed on, figuring I would just fit this in over the course of a year in my free time. I also did think that perhaps, given the topic, that money would come in so that we wouldn’t be working ourselves into being broke financially.

The Hand Off
Dewett still had all the original files on hard drives in South Africa and I lived here in the USA. So he had to organize the files and then ship it over. But that’s not the hard part. He had to trust others to take all of his footage and turn it into something-while relinquishing control over the process. And I gotta say, that’s a REALLY hard thing to do. Hats off to Dewett.

Making the Movie-No Funding
Frankie and I absolutely tried to raise funds. We had every confidence we could raise around $50K. A very meager budget but better than nothing. We barely hit $1,300 with that fundraiser. Then we had a choice. Proceed as volunteers or throw in the towel. We decided to proceed. 

Living on the Cheap!

I decided to dip into my savings and not work for anyone else until the movie was done. We agreed that we would give it our all, even without funding. We aimed for a release date in late 2023 instead of 2024. Why? Because there are so many sharks dying every year, to wait another year seemed wrong. Our approach was that any kind of movie would be better than no movie at all.  To make it work I began long term housesitting and petsitting gigs to keep my overhead costs low so that I could stretch out what little money I had. Frankie lived very inexpensively in South America where the cost of living is incredibly low compared to the USA. We both joked a LOT about living on peanut butter. The truth though is that it really was quite difficult to focus on the work while watching the little money you had disappear. 

Inspirations
There were absolutely times when I felt like giving up. Just being honest. I was like “what am I doing? I am going to go broke doing this!” But for both of us it felt like the effort was worth our time. In order to do this, and not crash, you have to have a team of people around you. No movie is made alone. Speaking for myself, here is what got me through this process…

Frankie
I could never have made this movie without Frankie’s energy and enthusiasm and laughter. Our mantras have been “let’s gooooo!” and “for the sharks!!!”, among others. Frankie is 26. I am 52. I’ve been around the block a few times, so to speak, but for her, this is her debut as a movie director. And she was an absolute natural and seriously blew me away with how she was able to understand the role and occupy that space like a seasoned pro. She didn’t just work with people on this project. She checks in with you. She makes sure you are doing okay. She rallies and cheers. Frankie worked hard on this project, harder than I have seen anyone work on any project. Bar none.

The Interview Subjects

What also sustained me are the 24 people whose interviews I was editing and reading over and over and over and over. I have about 24 hours of interviews from shark conservationists now locked into my memory forever. And their dedication, up there on my screens, and in the many pages of transcripts, kept me fired up for the project when I was struggling with the next steps. All of these interview subjects freely gave their time, their experiences and passion for sharks to this movie and that mattered to me.

Dewett
If I was ever lacking in drive, I would think about Dewett’s swim to Dyer Island. This guy literally risked his life in order to raise awareness about the decline of the Great White Shark. So when I would be laying on the floor, surrounded by scattered transcripts, with my brain melting, I would absolutely think “If Dewett can swim to Dyer Island then surely I can do this”

Samantha
Samantha is our narrator! This is her debut as a narrator. Frankie and I tried SO hard to find a narrator. I have narrated all my movies and so I was the Plan B. But we desperately wanted a South African voice, since this is a South African centric movie. Samantha stepped into the role and worked exceedingly hard at learning the ropes of recording, finding her voice, pacing, diction…it is very hard to do in fact. And she really did so well. Putting your voice out there for the world to hear is intimidating. But she stepped right up and the movie is better for it. 

There are many other people I could list as inspirations but I think I will stop since we are already up to 27. 

Anyway…that’s the fuller story of how The Last Shark has been made! As for me I am heading to Vermont now for my last scheduled housesitting gig til December 15. While there I will be likely editing right up til the Premiere date. Then I go visit my kids in Iowa for Christmas. After that? I am currently houseless, jobless and in need of rest. So we will just see what life has in store…