Bahamian filmmaker and photographer Eddy Raphael has won a Best
Cinematography Award at The Berlin Ciclopes Film Festival 2015 for ‘The Shark
Dancer’:
Best known for his underwater camera work, Eddy Raphael engaged with top
advertising director Juurian Booij from Holland, and shark advocate and of Women Divers Hall of Famer, Cristina
Zenato to film the new Huawei cell phone commercial, 'The Shark Dancer.' Wearing chain-mail suits
and diving closely with sharks, Eddy developed the underwater story, along with
Sherman Johnson’s above-water camera work of Cristina’s unique connection with
the sharks around Grand Bahama Island.
The short film, revolving around the series title ‘The Power Of
Touch’, was scheduled to be one of three documentaries. ‘The Shark Dancer’ and
the second film made were so incredible that the third film was dropped as the
content of the films could not be matched a third time. In ‘The Shark Dancer’
Cristina’s story unfolds at her ‘office’ in the ocean and delves into the deep
seated passion and care she surrounds her Caribbean Reef Sharks with.
Eddy, a long time colleague of Cristina, was able to portray much
of that love and guardianship which emanated a seamless harmony between his and
Sherman Johnson’s above-water camera work. Illustrating an enchanting piece of
Cristina’s personal world, ‘The Shark Dancer’ is an exhilarating look at one
woman’s unique human interaction with some of nature’s most formidable
creatures.
