Save Our Seas Funds "Saving The Turtle Dance" Spyhop Productions produces Kemp's Ridley story with HD Cinematography by Tom Campbell

May 16, 2006 SAVANNAH, GA -- Spyhop Productions is in production on "Saving the Turtle Dance", an HD documentary about a unique partnership that is bringing the most endangered sea turtle in the world back from the brink of extinction. The production is made possible by a generous grant from the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOS). The opportunity to pitch the story directly to SOS at the 2005 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival led to funding for the project.

The film is produced by Jim Carswell and Mari Carswell, with Jim Carswell directing. Tom Campbell is Director of Photography.

"Saving the Turtle Dance" is about the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, which was almost erased from the face of the earth. It tells the story of how an adversarial relationship between biologists and shrimpers turned into a groundbreaking alliance: both groups determined to maintain balance in the sea, and passionate about rescuing this prehistoric animal. Together with government and volunteers from both Mexico and the U.S. they have helped grow the Kemp's Ridley annual nesting population from a low of 300 females in the mid 1980's, to over 4,000 in 2005. However, a film from 1947 shows over 40,000 nesting turtles on the beach in a single day. So they continue their work, driving long hours to the secluded and sweltering beaches of Northeast Mexico, the sole nesting ground for the Kemp's Ridley, buoyed on by success but afraid to stop their efforts too early.

The difference of this partnership is evident in their holistic approach to solve the problems of egg poaching and turtle harvesting, major reasons for the Kemp's Ridley's endangered status. They built a ceramics workshop in Tepehuajes, one of the towns along the nesting beach and teaching the local villagers to make ceramics inspired by the sea turtles. This has changed the way the locals view the turtles, giving them an alternate means of make a living and has made them advocates for the recovery program.

Due to the animal's rarity, the film will feature the first-ever underwater footage of the beautiful copper shelled, adult Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles, and the tiny hatchlings as they embark on their journey into the sea.

While Spyhop Productions had already produced a version of the story in standard definition, industry interest in the importance of this project as a model for future endangered species programs, led them to re-shoot in the best format possible, high definition, with Tom Campbell's HD Productions. Tom Campbell, DP, is one of the world's leading marine HD cinematographers.

The film will be produced as a one-hour documentary in both English and Spanish. A shorter version will be produced for select aquariums, zoos and educational institutions. It is due to be released in Spring of 2007.

Spyhop Productions is an independent documentary production company based in Savannah, Georgia. Spyhop has worked with National Geographic Channel, Georgia Public Television, NBC News, Dateline, Today Show, ABC News and Good Morning America, and has worked on productions for PBS, BBC, TLC, Food Network, HGTV and Discovery Military Channel.

The Geneva-based Save Our Seas Foundation was established to create awareness, protection, preservation and conservation of the global marine environment.

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting high-quality natural history, wildlife, and environmental documentaries that raise awareness and sensitivity to the wild world around us.

For more information about this production, contact:
Jim Carswell, Spyhop Productions
(912) 844-0084 or jim@spyhopproductions.com