The film later faced criticism for environmental damage done during the filmmaking . In one scene , the crew of the '' Calypso '' massacre a school of sharks that were drawn to the carcass of a baby whale , which itself had been mortally injured by the crew , albeit accidentally ( Cousteau had the ship driven into a pod of whales to get a close-up view , striking one whale in the process before the baby was lacerated by the prop . ) In another , Cousteau uses dynamite near a coral reef in order to make a more complete census of the marine life in its vicinity . Cousteau later became more environmentally conscious , involved in marine conservation , and was even called " the father of the environmental movement " by Ted Turner . '' The Silent World '' was the first of Cousteau 's documentary films to win an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature ; '' World Without Sun '' also won in 1964 . The film also won the '' Palme d'Or '' award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival , being the only documentary film to win the award until Michael Moore 's '' Fahrenheit 9/11 '' repeated the feat in 2004
1956 Cannes Film Festival
1956 Cannes Film Festival
The Silent World