Shark Loves the Amazon offers a fresh perspective on what it will take to protect the Amazon rainforest and support the millions of people who now live there.
Many still think of the Amazon as a land populated primarily by indigenous people surrounded by exotic flora and fauna, all threatened by mining and farming. But that’s no longer a fully accurate picture, since more than twenty million Brazilians migrated to the region over the last few decades and are themselves struggling to survive and prosper.
Author and attorney Mark London, offers an updated analysis and approach in this documentary, based on his book
The Last Forest: The Amazon in the Age of Globalization (Random House), written with journalist Brian Kelly. London developed a lifelong passion for the Amazon during his first visit 30 years ago, and has traveled extensively in the region in recent years. The film depicts the hard, contemporary realities of a region seeking a sustainable model of development that can provide both for its millions of inhabitants and preserve the Earth’s last great forest, with its unparalleled biodiversity and global importance.
As levels of deforestation rapidly approach the point of no return, London poses a provocative alternative to the simple mantra, “leave the forest untouched.” One promising model the film profiles is the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve, which incentivizes people who live in the region to protect the forests.
Shark Loves the Amazon begins with substantial historical context, tracing in detail the forces that transformed the Amazon since the 1960’s, when it was a largely unexplored and untouched region, unlike today.
TITLE NOTE: “Shark” refers to the fact Mark London is a lawyer.
FEATURED IN THE FILM- Thomas Lovejoy, Biodiversity Chair, Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
- Dr. Philip Fearnside, National Institute for Research of the Amazon
- Charles Mann, Author, 1491 and 1493
- Eduardo Braga, Senator & Former Governor of the State of Amazonas, Brazil
- Virgilio Viana, CEO, Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS)
- Raquel Lunas, Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS)
Additional resources:For more information on the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve
click here.
Preview link available upon request. Contact support@videoproject for more information