In one of the many scenes of shark finning, a large animal is shown being hauled up onto the the deck of a boat. As it struggles two jovial smiling men hold it down, slice off all of its fins and kick it back into the water. The shark flails about as it tries desperately to swim and eventually sinks and drowns. It is a difficult and heart-wrenching scene to watch that evokes both pity and indignation.

While it seemed utterly hopeless and depressing at some points, the documentary did end on a somewhat promising note. Great protests are shown on the streets of Punta Reina as Costa Ricans demonstrated their outrage at this barbaric practice.

I asked Stewart if he believed there was still hope for sharks. "Yes I think there's hope. We can accomplish great things when we want to. I mean, we've come so far on things like gender equality and human rights and look at what we did to save the whales! If the public gets behind this NOW, then we can change things for the better!"

Stewart's first movie is slick, gripping, and utterly riveting thanks to skilled editing and an amazing soundtrack. This film has "flash" and it has Rob Stewart himself (who happens to be very good looking) as the secondary star attraction. When you're competing with blockbuster popcorn flicks while trying to bring attention to such an important issue, it doesn't hurt to have an uber cool passionate spokesperson. "I've been trying to get people to listen to me talking about sharks for years, I love talking about them." 

Sharkwater, I say confidently again, is a devastatingly beautiful film.

Sharkwater opens November 2 in 20 major markets including Los Angeles and New York.