MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

by Joel Piña

How are legends created? JD Hammer, one of the subjects and founding members of the South Beach Shark Club, says that legends begin as stories and they are passed on from person to person, and with each new person the details become more extraordinary. That is how a legend is created. South Beach Shark Club: Legends and Lore of The South Florida Shark Hunters, directed by Robert Requejo Ramos, is a documentary that tells a multi-generational story of South Beach shark hunters. While their exploits and adventures have evolved from a story into legend, the bond that South Beach’s shark hunters had and have is undeniable and plain to see.

The documentary follows several key figures all of whom share the common bond of shark hunting. There is a clear lineage that can be traced from legendary fishermen like JD Hammer and Rene De Dios to the catch-and-release shark hunters of today. The film starts by setting the stage that was South Beach in the 1970s. Surfers, skaters, beach bums, and the elderly were the main crowds south of 5^th Street, but there were also the shark hunters. The shark hunters would spend hours on the original South Beach Pier trying to one-up each other with the size of their catch. By the 1980s, with an influx of Cuban immigrants and a crime wave, shark hunting godfathers like JD Hammer were teaching troubled youths to fish instead of getting into trouble. This showcases the multi-generational bond at the heart of the story. Many of today’s shark hunters owe their upbringing to mentors like Rene de Dios and JD Hammer, who kept them out of trouble by putting a fishing reel in their hands.

Robert Requejo Ramos, the director, was successful in imparting just how important shark hunting is to his subjects while also managing to tell a great story about the history of South Beach. The subjects are enthusiastic storytellers and you can’t help but get pulled right in as they weave their yarns. There is extensive use of archival footage and scans that also tell the story visually with headlines and photos, which the director and producer were collecting as recently as a few weeks before the premiere!

I recommend this film to anyone that wants to know more about South Florida’s history. I think it is a compelling story, wholly Floridian in both subject and delivery. Shark hunting was and still is a way of life for many legendary fishermen. In the past shark fishing was not just for the sport, it was for profit. Nowadays, however, not only does shark fishing continue to bring people together, but it also brings awareness to conservation efforts. That is an admirable evolution of the South Beach Shark Club and one can only wait and see how it will continue to evolve as new generations of fishermen take the line.