Two majestic whales glide gracefully near the ocean's surface, their gray bodies illuminated by sunlight filtering through the water. As they swim, the seabed below is faintly visible, adding depth to this serene underwater scene.
An older person wearing a fur-lined hat and green coat peers through binoculars, searching intently, as if spotting a whale on the distant horizon. Indoors, a map in the background hints at past adventures and future discoveries.
A majestic humpback whale gracefully swims underwater, surrounded by the vast deep blue ocean. Sunlight penetrates the surface, highlighting its textured skin and long pectoral fins as it glides serenely through its aquatic realm.

The Witness is a Whale

Nature & Wildlife·1 x 50 min·Completed

Whales once ruled the seas, shaping the ocean's ecosystem. This captivating story uncovers their forgotten legacy and the secrets behind their past glory.

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Genre
Conservation
Nature & Wildlife
Duration
1 × 50 min
Definition
4K
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
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Synopsis

A thousand years ago there was an ocean full of giants. Whales were at the heart of a global web, connected to everything. They were the architects of the sea, and in places, even the land. A whale’s past glory is written in their behaviour, their character, their community, and the world that was formed around them.

A huge Blue whale engulfs a hundred tons in one mouthful, humpbacks sing, grey whales fight off orcas, bowheads carry the scars. Southern Right whales reveal their history in the colour of their skin, and sperm whales carry their secrets to the deep and back. The whales are the witnesses to a glorious past of giants and also to an untold human history. The clues are everywhere…

In a basement in Odessa, top secret Soviet whaling reports are hidden. During the cold war, illegal whaling was out of control, run by the KGB, and few suspected how many whales were killed. In a thrilling and interwoven story, ships logs appear from garages, attic and cellars. For the first time, we know how many whales were killed, and so, how many there once were.

We used to think that whales were rare specialists that reach gigantic size, a natural curiosity. But if there were ten times more than was thought, or a hundred times more, then their role in the ocean was more important than anyone imagined. Suddenly, the whales themselves, their behaviour, make more sense. They are the witnesses, not only to Soviet and Japanese secrets, but to their own past.

Humpback whales travel thousands of miles to the South Eastern Pacific to feed on anchovies, working together as a team. They then head to the tropics to calve, via the Cook Straight, between New Zealand’s two islands. The New Zealand whalers remember the year that no whales came. Their numbers are building back now, and arriving at their tropical Pacific paradise, the males sing and the females give birth. The song reaches out over the ocean, a legacy of when whales affected so much of life underwater.

The missing part of the puzzle is Sperm whales. They were the most valuable and secret catch. In a state archive in Vladivostok, an undercover researcher risks all, and finds the shocking truth.

The threads are tied together. The discoveries of cold war secrets reveal a bigger truth. A thousand years ago many millions of whales dominated the sea. An early description is of so many whale blows, plumes of spray, that the surface of the ocean resembled a forest. The implications to how we think of the modern ocean, and help it back to health, are profound.

A mother grey whale approaches a boat half her size and allows herself to be petted by visitors. She could easily be old enough to remember whaling and would have known the loss of most of her kind, but she is now witness to a whale’s gentle vulnerability, and the hope of our understanding.

Team

Produced, directed and photographed by Nick Dean and Cheryl Dean
Executive producers Martin Mészáros, Sabine Holzer
Production companies A co-production of Spindrift Images, Terra Mater Factual Studios and Mark Fletcher Productions

Awards & Recognitions

Potsdam, Germany Filmfestival Ökofilmtour Best Film (Category: Climate Protection) 2022
Santa Monica, USA Blue Water Film Festival Winner (Category: Best Feature Documentary) 2022
Santa Monica, USA Blue Water Film Festival Winner (Category: Directors Vision Award) 2022
UN HQ, USA 2022 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Recovering Species for Ecosystem Restoration Winner (Category: People & Threatened Species: Long Form) 2022
New York, USA DUMBO FILM FESTIVAL Semi-Finalist 2022
San Francisco, USA International Ocean Film Festival Official Selection 2022
New York, USA New York WILD Film Festival Official Selection (Category: Conservation Film) 2022
Nevada City, USA Wild & Scenic Film Festival Official Selection (Category: Wildlife) 2022
Shepherdstown, USA ACFF - American Conservation Film Festival Official Selection (Category: Conservation Film) 2022
Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Eckernförde Winner (Category: Green Report) 2021
Cannes, France Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Silver Dolphin (Category: Environment, Ecology & Sustainability) 2021
Deauville, France Deauville Green Awards Gold Trophy (Category: Preservation of the Biodiversity) 2021
WCSFP - World Congress of Science & Factual Producers Buzzies Awards Nomination (Category: Best Natural History Long Format) 2021
Rotterdam, Netherlands WFFR - Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam Official Selection 2021
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist (Category: Science in Nature - Long Form) 2021
Innsbruck, Austria INFF - Innsbruck Nature Film Festival Nomination 2021
Ludwigsburg, Germany NaturVision Filmfestival Official Selection (Category: Audience Award) 2021
Missoula, USA IWFF International Wildlife Film Festival Official Selection (Category: 2021 Rising From the Depths: Whales 2021 Theme) 2021
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