(FINALIST)
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Original Film Title: The Bait – Not another shark movie
Director’s Name:
Writer’s Name: Bernardo Barreto
Producer:
Country of Origin: United States
Country of Filming: United States
Language: English, Italian, Quechua, Spanish
Runtime: 115 Page
Film Description:
The Bait is a visceral survival thriller based on a true story. It follows João, a disillusioned real estate executive suffocating under the weight of his domineering family’s expectations. When his carefree friend Patrick invites him on a windsurfing trip to Búzios, João seizes the chance to reconnect with the ocean—and with himself. But a sudden shark attack leaves him critically injured, stranded miles from shore and fighting for his life.
Adrift between life and death, João struggles to survive while haunted by memories of lost love, a fractured family, and the betrayal that broke him. As hallucinations blur the boundaries between past and present, he is forced to confront the emotional wounds that have defined his identity. His ordeal becomes both brutal and transformative, stripping away the false self he built to please others.
When he finally reaches land, barely alive, João is no longer the man who entered the water. In the film’s poignant conclusion, he reclaims his dream of cultivating a pearl farm in Polynesia—living in harmony with nature and with the sharks that once nearly ended him.
A story of survival, redemption, and rebirth, The Bait explores how sometimes we must be broken in order to discover who we truly are.