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Each year, RadioWest sits down for in-depth conversations with filmmakers and producers during the Sundance Film Festival. Just like the festival, the RadioWest team has eclectic taste. We hope you enjoy the diversity of topics as much as we do.

Sundance: ‘Playing With Sharks’

Photo by Ron & Valerie Taylor
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Courtesy of Sundance Institute

If you’ve seen the 1975 blockbuster Jaws, you’ll likely remember the scene when a great white shark attacks the cage holding Richard Dreyfuss’ character – a real-life moment captured not by Steven Spielberg, but by marine filmmaker Valerie Taylor. 

Valerie Taylor made a name for herself as a spearfishing champion in her native Australia before she traded in her spear gun for a camera, and introduced millions of viewers to the mysteries and beauties of the ocean. With a particular love for sharks, Valerie and her husband Ron made films, shot photographs, wrote books – anything they could to educate the public about life below the water's surface. Filmmaker Sally Aitken’s documentary Playing with Sharks shows the lasting impact of the couple’s passion and dedication for the ocean. We’ll talk with Aitken about the life and work of Valerie Taylor this Friday at noon.

Playing with Shakes screens online at the Sundance Film Festival Friday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. MST and Sunday, Jan. 31 at 8 a.m. MST. For more information on how to watch Playing with Sharks or any of the 2021 Sundance Film Festival selections, go to Festival.Sundance.org.

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
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