BEYOND FEAR

In 2000 German film maker Ralf Kiefner made a ground breaking film about, Shark Diving Unlimited’s, Michael Rutzen free diving with great white sharks. The documentary was called BEYOND FEAR and was broadcast on NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

For the first time auidences saw, not only people swimming freely with great white sharks, but also communicating with them! Micheal believes that he can decipher the body langauge of great white sharks and proves so by altering his own body langauge to keep control of the interactions. His golden rule is to stand your ground as everything which swims away from a great white shark is potential prey! By making his body smaller he can attract a curious shark; by making himself bigger in the water he can deter a confident shark. ‘All you have to do is defend your own personal space and stay calm’, say’s Michael. The stunning images of Michael freediving with great white sharks have graced the front covers of many international dive magazines. Michael believes that these images speak a thousand words and helps to promote the gentler side of sharks. Which he believes is a crucial step in the right direction to changing the public’s negative image of these magnificant predators.

OTHER LINKS: Fathoms and Carte Blanche.

SHARKMAN

Since the release of BEYOND FEAR Michael has become known, world wide, for his unique understanding of great white shark behaviour. In 2005 the independent televsion production company Off The Fence invited Michael to make the film of his life’s dream.
SHARKMAN was broadcast on ANIMAL PLANET in the UK in March 2007. DISCOVERY CHANNEL liked the documentary so much they commissioned another version to showcase on the 2007 SHARK WEEK schedule. Look out for SHARKMAN Aug 4th (USA), and later in the year for the UK.

Michael has always been fascinated by the phenomenon found in sharks called tonic immobility. SHARKMAN follows Mike’s quest to unravel the secrets of tonic immobility and his attempt for the ultimate goal - to put a great white shark into tonic immobility! The epic 94 minute production features Mike working with the Raggy-toothed sharks at the Blue Planet Aquarium, (Ellesmere Port, UK); with lemon sharks at Doc Grubers Shark Lab in Bimini; handling Caribbean sharks with shark lady Christina Zenato of the Grand Bahamas; and free diving with tiger sharks with Walter Barnardis off the east African coast. All this before returning South Africa to dive with the great white sharks! Watch out for Mike’s hair-raising dive with not 1 but 8 great white sharks! A breath taking free dive with a 5m great white shark! And ultimately his attempt to induce tonic immobility on a great white shark!

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