Now You See Me, Sharks and Rays—A SARAH & SEBASTIAN Short Film

SARAH & SEBASTIAN is honoured to present the film Now You See Me, Sharks and Rays, directed by photographer and filmmaker Alice Wesley-Smith, which premiered at Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2023.  

The third film in our Now You See Me series illuminates the sharks and rays that inhabit the east coast of Australia from the perspective of legendary conservationist and ocean photographer Valerie Taylor AM. Narrated by Taylor, her engaging musings of the ocean and enduring relationships with sharks are imparted in prose penned by Anna Harrison. 

There are over 1,200 shark and ray species in the world, and Australia’s waters are home to one quarter of them. Filmed at seven locations along Grey Nurse Shark aggregation sites known as The String of Pearls—from Jervis Bay in New South Wales to Wolf Rock in Queensland—Wesley-Smith captured the diverse beauty of the species that Taylor has dedicated her life to protecting.  

"I often think nature made the perfect animal when she made the shark; The first Great White I ever saw was like a freight train coming out of the mist, it was magnificent. After that I never missed the opportunity to swim with sharks, I found them very exciting."

— Valerie Taylor

Stirring music composed by Mara Schwerdtfeger reflects the magnificence and virtue of these creatures that command the ocean. This was purposefully chosen for its direct contrast to the ominous Jaws soundtrack—a marker of the dated ‘only a good shark is a dead shark’ mentality. One steeped in terror, this lingering attitude has led to the near-extinction of shark and ray  species including the Grey Nurse Shark and countless others. 

Australian shark and ray populations are in a continuous decline, with 1 in 8 species threatened with extinction in Australian waters. In NSW, the combined impacts of commercial and recreational fishing and shark control activities have directly led to  this reduction.

Valerie Taylor

“When we dived at Wolf Rock, we were shocked to see boats fishing close to the small marine sanctuaries that protect the Grey Nurse  Sharks in those waters. It’s clear that the only way to halt the complete decimation is to extend these sanctuaries to ensure their absolute protection”

— Alice Wesley-Smith 

The current climate crisis is also impacting habitats, influencing where sharks move and for how long, further stressing their populations. Sharks are one of the world’s most ancient creatures, existing for around 450 million years. They have survived through all the Earth’s five mass extinction events, but may not survive us. 

Of the aggregation sites along the String of Pearls only some are marine sanctuaries, which means fishing may still be allowed in some instances. In a number of locations where a marine sanctuary has been established, areas may only be between 500m to 1.5km in radius,  providing limited protection.  

Scientists affirm that we need to protect at least 30% of our global oceans with well-connected networks of protected marine sanctuaries by 2030. As of now, sanctuary areas cover 19% of Australia’s waters, but there are major gaps in the network, with many vital habitats remaining unprotected.

Our sharks and rays are in desperate need of protection and it’s up to each of us to make that happen for the health for our oceans, our planet, and all of humankind. 

"Sharks are essential to the health of our marine ecosystems. Small changes in the balance at the top of the food chain wreak monumental  changes at the bottom of it. Sharks keep all the creatures they encounter in balance." 

— Sarah Gittoes