Rob Stewart and the team from Sharkwater Productions are heading to Washington DC for the PowerShift ‘09 Convention February 27- March 2, 2009.

PowerShift’09 is an event that brings youth, activists and the leaders of the climate and clean energy movement together for a weekend of seminars, panels and action planning. Participants are encouraged to join workshops and panels that are designed to infuse young leaders with new skills, networking, new ideas and employment opportunities. The forum concludes with an action rally at Capitol Hill when the participants send their message to political leaders and demand immediate federal climate action. PowerShift demands that the federal government: invest in a clean energy economy, cut global warming pollution immediately, end our dependence on dirty energy, take dirty money out of politics, and re-engage as a leader in the international community.

Attending this monumental event is important to Rob as it provides key research opportunities for his next documentary Rise Again. The film explores how humans are going to survive the next 100 years and points to revolutions of the past to hopefully further the most important revolution of our time, saving humanity. Rise Again will take audiences on an incredible journey working with conservation groups to protect the planet, ecosystems, and ensure survival of our species.

For more info on Powershift ’09 please visit : http://www.powershift09.org/

Ocean Awareness Week kicks off at the University of Miami with a special screening of Sharkwater followed by a keynote address from director Rob Stewart. The event will be held on the Coral Gables campus on Monday, February 23rd with over 150 students and faculty in attendance. The event is sponsored by Rho Rho Rho, the Marine and Atmospheric Science Honor Society to promote awareness, preservation, and conservation of the Earth’s marine resources and environments.

Toronto Life March 2009 –
When power couple Galen and Alexandra Weston saw Sharkwater, Rob Stewart’s debut doc about murderous Guatemalan shark poachers and other oceanic abuses, they were moved to call the guy up and pledge their support for his cause. They even invited Stewart to dinner at the Spoke Club, where Alex revealed she had all but cut out seafood. You can imagine, then, Stewart’s shock when he discovered Real Canadian Superstores (a Loblaw chain) advertising shark’s fin soup in the days leading up to the 2009 Chinese New Year.

Stewart took swift action on his blog, advising supporters to sell their Loblaw stock and write or call CEO Galen Weston Jr. He then fired off an e-mail to the grocery titan, expressing his strenuous objection. Weston, a recent recipient of a national PR award, jumped faster than you can say “five cents a bag,” pledging to look into the matter ASAP. Stewart pushed back with a request for an exact date when he could expect the soup to be sacked. In an e-mail exchange, he insisted, “You, as CEO, should be able to remove shark’s fin soup from your stores almost immediately.” He wasn’t afraid to play hardball, either: “As you know, we have amassed quite a following in the public and press, and will be doing our best to bring this issue to light.”

Weston, for his part, saw fit to reveal a little domestic detail: “My wife still rarely eats fish because of your film… So the drum beats in my home every night.” Five days after Stewart’s first e-mail, the Asian delicacy was off the shelves. A good move, considering Loblaw has marked 2009 as a year for progress in “sourcing with integrity.”