Malpelo
Victoria Rivera, Writer/Director
Camila Zavala, Producer
Sloan Grant(s) Received:
2019, Screenplay Award, Columbia University
2019, Producing Lab Fellow, Film Independent
Project Type: Feature
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Length: 95 pages
Field of Science: Marine Biology
Stage: Development
Synopsis
After the sudden death of her husband during a shark research expedition, Mia Soto leaves her young son to make the perilous journey to Malpelo Island, home to the largest congregation of hammerhead sharks and site of his fatal accident. Once-promising marine biologist and headstrong free-diver, Mia hopes to complete her husband’s yearly expedition tagging hammerhead sharks, now dangerously close to extinction. She does so in an effort to continue this crucial work and safeguard the tenuous future of the organization they built together. As she navigates the dangerous waters trapped on a boat with a crew of men she can’t trust, she uncovers an illegal poaching scheme and reveals the dark truth behind her husband’s legacy. Mia is finally able to come back to life on her own terms.