American Documentary and Animation Film Festival (2024)

Ocean Films Husavik (2024)

21st Annual Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema (2024)

Mountain Shadow’s 10th Annual Short Film Competition (2024)

Director Statement

Fear has always been used to justify violence, turning the oppressed into monsters to legitimize coercion. This pattern is evident in every act of violence throughout human history, affecting both humans and other-than-human beings. Shark finning, for example, kills an estimated 100 million or more sharks globally per year, driven by a market that values profit over everything else.
In addition, mainstream media and Hollywood often perpetuate fear, with movies like Jaws (1975) portraying sharks as savage creatures that must be exterminated for our safety. Such portrayals have become a part of popular culture, causing many of us to panic when thinking of sharks automatically.
Kirk, The Blacksmith attempts to counter this stereotypical portrayal of sharks by featuring a blacksmith artist who protests shark finning. Kirk's art goes beyond Hollywood's horror, bringing humans and sharks together to reimagine a future where respect becomes the mutual language of humans and other-than-human beings.