Thursday, 30th October 2008

Shark attacks filmed in Maltese waters

Fiona Galea Debono

Malta's waters appeared to be infested with sharks lately but they were merely setting the bloody scene for a Discovery Channel docu-drama.

Jaws 1916 - Savage Shore was filmed over five days at Għajn Tuffieħa, the water tank of the Mediterranean Film Studios in Rinella and at St George's Bay.

Swimmers must have been in for an initial shock - and some extra, unexpected entertainment, when they discovered that the shark and the gnawed bodies, sprawled on the sand and smeared in stage blood, were the stuff of fiction and that they could just watch the scene unfold without any fear.

The docu-drama involved 50 local crew and about 30 cast and extras - and one mechanical shark.

It deals with the shark attacks off the coast of New Jersey in the early 1900s, said production manager Simon Sansone, of Small Island Films, which serviced the project locally.

It is said the blood-curdling book and film Jaws was based on these specific attacks.

The English production company Brook Lapping Productions chose Malta due to the good weather and the water tank, Mr Sansone explained.

Parts of the docu-drama were also shot in the UK.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Sunday, November 8, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

Jack Attard Falzon (on 30/10/08)

Beware:::: We have another land Shark swimming around and floating on newspapers and this is the one that eats the concept of families through the introduction of (1) Divorce (2) Abortion
But if this live floating land shark is not caught, it might ruin the Maltese Christian Society.

v.pulis (on 30/10/08)

I just hope that the screening of the film does not trigger off another mass slaughter of sharks as happened when Jaws was made. Discovery channel is supposed to be an education channel not a sensational one.

John Schranz (on 30/10/08)

That's a crap programme for Discovery Channel to make. As though Jaws wasn't enough to give such a slanted, bad image to sharks. Wouldn't expect it from a channel which is meant to be doing serious animal documentaries.