It's official, a little film made by four friends, three of whom didn't actually know what we were doing, just to see if we could actually do something, has become front page news (honestly, it was on the front page!) in the two biggest English speaking newspapers in Spain and Mallorca.
Finally, thirteen months to the day after production finished, after months of complications, logistical nightmares, the subtitled master being lost by the Spanish post office, technical disasters and hours and hours and hours upon hours of work, Behind Blue Glass was screened in public for the first time on Monday May 28th at Mood Beach Club in Portals, Mallorca, to a packed room of about seventy or so locals and ex-pats.
I'm not gonna lie, I spent the whole day convinced nobody would turn up and the whole night would be a total disaster, the fact that the night proved the total opposite, was not just a huge relief but also a pretty overwhelming experience. It was an amazing reaction not just to the film itself, but to the short presentations Brad and I made before and after the film. The room was made up of people from all backgrounds and of all ages, some of whom were experienced divers, people who had encountered sharks, and many more whose ocean going experience stretched no further than dipping a toe into the Med every Summer and the feedback from all was consistent in that everyone enjoyed it, at least they said they did anyway!
It was heartening to have so many people come up to both Brad and myself after the screening to say they were touched by the message in the film, that sharks really aren't evil killing machines, and that also, they were surprised to hear that Mallorca has something of a tradition with the Great White Shark. It's always a pleasure to meet new people and hear that you have influenced a positive opinion of sharks amongst people who may normally not be exposed to media which gives a more accurate representation of shark/human interaction. Although being overcome by embarrassment at the immediate reaction post-screening, I must also admit to being proud of what we achieved.
It was as much an achievement for Brad and Bea as it was for me though of course and it was great to see them getting the plaudits they deserve, even more so that the screening came in the midst of a project we are working on which is gaining real momentum, helped along even more by the screening.
What is this project? A short film about real conservationists doing real conservation and again, as is the way I like to do things, it focuses on the people behind the thankless, arduous and all too often self financed projects designed to help protect the marine environment. This is once again based in Mallorca and is again Elasmobranch based with plenty of underwater footage including some startling stuff of animals as big as cars, living close to shore in the Mediterranean.
It should be done in the next three weeks and will be free to view in the usual places. The first to see it will be a small selected group, followed by the people on my mailing list (join here) and then all of you lucky people. There will of course be a blog to give more details but the footage looks brilliant and the message will be delivered in our own inimitable style, anyone wanting to move away from techno-conservation to dirty hands, hard work conservation would be well advised to take heed of this film when it's out.
Finally, if you want to get your own copy of Behind Blue Glass, you can pick one up for €9.95 from Palma Aquarium and being totally aware that not all of you live in Mallorca, I am told they will be adding a "buy online" option shortly. Remember though, this is Mallorca, things don't get done quickly so if you, like I, think this would be a goo idea, feel free to tell them at info@palmaaquarium.com
I am also still looking in to the best host for an online digi-download, ideally one that doesn't expect me to empty my bank account to them for the privilege of them not actually doing anything so I will be doing that as soon as possible and you will of course be the first to know. I also can't recommend highly enough, emailing Palma Aquarium to tell them you don't live in Mallorca but that you want a copy of the DVD, the more they see the demand, the quicker the buy online option will materialise!
Thanks to Gonzo for the photos from a brilliant night and thanks to Vicki Mcleod, Brad, Bea, Nicky and everyone who cared enough to come to the screening, you gave us more strength to keep doing what we're doing.
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