Volume 6

When Laurent Ballesta was a little kid, he didn’t play cowboys and Indians – he dreamed of an adventurous life like his big role model: Jacques Cousteau, pioneer of oceanic exploration and marine filmmaker of the first hour. A dream come true: Today Ballesta is not only a marine biologist but one of the most renowned wild life photographers worldwide. In 700 Sharks the Frenchman takes us along to the Pacific atoll Fakarava, where he has been studying the hunting behavior of great reef sharks for four years.

With cutting edge technology and an international team of experts Ballesta wants to uncover the sharks’ strategies hunting groupers in a narrow ravine on the coral belt. The competition is tough: More than 700 specimen gather in the ravine – the biggest school of sharks ever recorded. But every fourth attempt of the hunt is successful. How is it that these sharks are more effective hunters than a pack of wolves?

On their search for answers Ballesta and his team uncover as much about the hunter as the hunted and end up between enemy lines while documenting the nocturnal feast. With unprecedented footage and spectacular scenes 700 Sharks opens our eyes to the fascinating complexities of life underwater and the moon’s influence on it.

The illegal fishing trawler “Thunder” was making dirty millions for ten years – right until the ocean activists of Sea Shepherd caught sight of it. For more than 10,000 miles the Sea Shepherd vessels, the Bob Barker and the Sam Simon, chase the poachers across international waters to put a stop to the killing of protected wild life. Chasing The Thunder is a real-life thriller in rough seas - an epic 110-day sea chase across three oceans and two seas, where an international crew and two fearless captains proof that conviction and resilience will make a difference where governments fail.

Breaking the law, the trawler “Thunder” makes its biggest haul with mile-long gill nets: The protected tooth fish is a big seller on the market. Taking out this apex predator puts an entire eco system at risk. So far the illegal poaching business has flourished in remote places like the Ross Sea, unchecked and uninhibited by any law enforcement. Fortunately, there are people like the 34-year-old Peter Hammarstedt, who make ocean protection their personal endeavor. With his international crew the Swedish Sea Shepherd activist fights for the compliance of international laws at the helm of his vessel, the Bob Barker. Where the world’s nations fail to protect the planet, Sea Shepherd tracks down illegal fishing vessels and provides Interpol with the crucial evidence needed to persecute the poachers.

Chasing The Thunder is the gripping account of an ocean adventure with a higher purpose, illustrating how much dedication and grit is necessary to protect our oceans and what a group of persistent individuals can achieve.

The life of Andy Irons reads like the surfer’s version of the American dream. Growing up in a struggling working class family in Hawaii, his talent for riding waves was discovered early on, and it catapulted him into an unprecedented career in surfing. In Kissed by God, we meet one of surfing’s all-time greats, a man who would change the sport forever but never managed to escape his own worst enemy in life and on the board—himself.

In the 1990s, Andy Irons and his brother Bruce quickly gained a reputation as young guns in the sport, firing up Hawaii’s scene and surfing as hard as they partied. While his contemporary and rival Kelly Slater is known for his composed focus, Andy Irons made a name for himself as the enfant terrible on and off the board. Both his talent and his temper remained unchecked, but what appeared to be a surfing star’s eccentricities was actually bipolar disorder, so severe that it sent Irons on a roller coaster of soaring athletic feats to the darkest depths of depression. Kissed by God is not just a riveting surf portrait; it's also the heartrending story of a beloved athlete, one who pushed the limits of his sport and transcended the boundaries of his condition against all odds up and until his untimely death.

Watch out for brain freeze. Amidst a blustery winter storm, the waves on Lake Superior are just right for Dan Schetter. Dodging sheets of ice, he launches in the water with abandon to do what saved his life: surf. Nothing clears the head like a plunge into cold water—precisely what’s needed when you want to leave your drinking habits behind. A sober Surfer Dan introduces us to his drug and remedy, proving that a real surfer needs no palm trees, no tan lines, and—most importantly—no excuses.