NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! Swimming in the deep open ocean, especially at night time, is a worst fear of mine and for many others. The insane people who do this on purpose are fascinating for multiple reasons, which makes for a great documentary. Filmmaker Jeff Tseng’s Don’t Be Prey follows failed Australian businessman Mark Sowerby and friends as they confront their fears by swimming across five continents and seven ocean channels while dealing with possible attacks from sharks, eels, jellyfish, and other creatures while going long distances in the cold water.
Mark reached an atmospheric level of success with his company Blue Sky, but it wasn’t enough to make him happy. Then his business started to fail, and with that came the shame of having a difficult time looking into the eyes of people who felt like family to him in the company. Of course, there was public shame from outsiders as well.
Sowerby is a competitive guy and needed something else that was missing in his life. The attempt to complete the “Oceans Seven” is something that only 37 people have ever done to date. That’s a Michael Jordan level of intensity needed, but with sea monsters and freezing conditions rather than simply stepping onto a court.
Even in a gorgeous setting such as Hawaii for one of the seven ocean swims, there is something that I’ve never even heard of before: cookie-cutter sharks, hideous creatures that will leave a big, gashing, cookie-sized hole in many of their victims in that area. The film shows that this in fact happens to one of Mark’s friends who attempts this swim.
Two swimmers share a quiet, happy moment on the water in Don’t Be Prey.
“…follows failed Australian businessman Mark Sowerby and friends as they confront their fears by swimming across five continents and seven ocean channels…”
The Oceans Seven marathon takes either incredible bravery or stupidity, or most likely a mix of both. The only medal that these people are getting is the satisfaction in their souls, which you could argue is greater than any financial gain. Mark has already been there and done that in the business world, so an adrenaline-fueled competition like this is what is left for him.
In Don’t Be Prey, Mark Sowerby talks about the intense fear that overcomes him while swimming for many hours in a treacherous area while in the dark at night. I want to know exactly what he thinks about to overcome that fear. Is it like that old adage, “think about baseball,” while one is usually performing something else with laser-focus?
Mark’s wife Heidi is also in the film to feature her natural fears about it all. Mark’s coach Tim Denyer has to maintain a level head about him, like when Phil Jackson had to deal with the insanity of Dennis Rodman. If Mark is struggling, Tim has to make the call to pull him out, no matter what Mark says.
I find this strange ocean marathon world and this film to be endlessly fascinating. It was filmed over the course of ten years and five continents, so Jeff Tseng really put the work in to make this happen. You will never catch me even giving the sharks a chance to prey on me, but hats off to people like Mark who actually have the balls of steel to tempt fate, as he did.
Don’t Be Prey screened at the 2026 Newport Beach Film Festival.
"…hats off to people...who actually have the balls of steel..."
