Vision Films, Inc. (“Vision”) is set to release the award-winning documentary film South Beach Shark Club on June 20, 2023, the same date the iconic film Jaws was released in 1975. This is the untold story of the culture and rise of shark fishing on the South Beach pier in Miami during the 1970s. Written and directed by Robert Requejo Ramos, a second-generation Cuban American who was born and raised along the sunny shores of Miami Beach, his experience includes as a boat captain, artist, musician, and award-winning writer/director/producer of short and feature length films. Ramos produced with Pedro Gomez, a fellow Cuban producer and director based out of Hialeah Florida.
This film uniquely highlights various themes, from the importance and power of teaching youth the value of fishing to preserving Miami Beach’s cultural history. It is not a film only about sharks, but a film about people, and what evokes humanity’s obsession with sharks, conservation, and the allure of the endless summer surfing and skate culture. Miami Beach shark fishing, surf, and skate legends recount the untold story of the rise of shark fishing and the enigmatic Rene De Dios, the self-proclaimed “greatest shark fisherman I the world,” on the South Beach pier in the 1970’s.
Featuring real life South Beachers: the late Rene De Dios, James “JD Hammer” Fuqua, Shannon Bustamante, William Fundora, Albert Poledri, Jorge Ramos, Kevin Pagan.
Lise Romanoff, CEO/Managing Director of Vision Films says, “Audiences will be mesmerized by the ride or die efforts of this relatively unknown band of brothers shark fishing on the South Beach pier in the 1970s. These are some of the most daring, real-life Jaws experiences ever shown.”
Writer/director Robert Requejo Ramos shares, “Everyone has a drunk uncle who tells “fish stories.” Like filmmakers, fishermen are storytellers. Allow me to be your drunk uncle and take you to a long-forgotten era of Miami Beach reminiscent of Southern California in the 70’s. South Beach Shark Club at its core is a story about a subculture that revolved around the ocean, a story that would otherwise disappear had we not made this film. Diving deeper, it’s a reflection on the consequence of obsession, the significance of mentorship, the ability to shift perspective, and the determination to be extraordinary.”
Miami International Film Festival: Documentary Achievement Award
Offshore Film Festival: Best Extreme Sports Film
DocNYC: Official Selection
South Beach Shark Club will be released on Transactional VOD June 20, 2023 across the US and Canada, followed by DVD in July. For more information follow the club and filmmakers on social @sharkinwithseaweed @robreqrams @southbeachsharkclub or online at www.southbeachsharkclub.com
