Nature
Whale Wisdom
© TMFS / Wild Logic / Kai Benson
Synopsis
Just how smart are whales?
Whales have long been a profound mystery to us. They live in a world so removed from our own that we can barely imagine their lives. Their environment is different, their senses are different, their relationships are different.
What goes on inside those vast heads? How might such almost alien creatures see the world? How might they think? New science is beginning to give us some answers.
Marine biologist and filmmaker Rick Rosenthal is on a journey to explore these insights, measuring the latest science against his own observations and long-held beliefs – and just maybe, getting a glimpse of the world as it must seem to these ocean giants.
Captured on camera for the first time in ‘Whale Wisdom’, Rick films the astonishing behaviour of a humpback whale which, time and again, manages to outwit humans in order to get what she wants – their fish. She brilliantly thwarts each attempt by the managers of a salmon hatchery to keep her away. Her coup de grace – slipping in and out unseen into an enclosure barely bigger than herself.
In Norway, ‘Whale Wisdom’ captures hunting techniques of humpback whales showing they have learned to interpret another species’ feeding calls – orcas – for their own benefit. The humpbacks, alerted by the orcas’ calls, wait for them to herd herring into tight schools, then sweep in and swallow the entire shoal.
Whales seem to experience fun, too. The camera team captures adult grey whales surfing the breakers, spending hours of each day riding waves at the surf break, stopping only when the tide changes and the waves subside.
And whales share songs. Humpback whales sing, and in the course of a season, a favourite “hit song” emerges. That song is passed from whale to whale, until eventually it’s being sung by all the humpback males in the Southern Pacific Ocean. ‘Whale Wisdom’ uses ultrasonography mapping to illustrate the scientists’ recording of one whale learning the song from another. Researchers believe the songs contain important information, possibly about their migrations, which is shared when the song is transferred – a cultural exchange among whales.
Filmed entirely in 4K from above and below the surface using boats, kayaks and drones, and working with respected whale scientists and researchers, Rick Rosenthal shines a light on the culture and wisdom of whales.
A Terra Mater Factual Studios production in co-production with Doclights/NDR Naturfilm in association with ARTE France/Unité Découverte et Connaissance produced by Wild Logic
Directed by Rick Rosenthal
Executive producers: Susanne Lummer,
Sabine Holzer
1 x 50 min., 4K,
5.1 + Stereo
Project status:
Available
2020
New York Festivals TV & Film Awards 2020 (New York, USA): Gold World Medal (Categories: Cinematography, Nature & Wildlife)
2019
Sondrio Festival 2019 (Sondrio, Italy): Special Mention by the International Panel of Judges
WIFF - Woodpecker International Film Festival 2019 (New Delhi, India): Best Film (Category: Environmental Challenges)
WFFR - Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam 2019 (Rotterdam, Netherlands): Flamingo Award (Category: Animal Behaviour)
Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2019 (Cannes, France): Winner Gold Dolphin (Category: Nature, Environment & Ecology)
Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Eckernförde 2019 (Eckernförde, Germany): Best Marine Film
IWFF - International Wildlife Film Festival 2019 (Montana, USA): Best Human-Wildlife Interaction Film
US International Film & Video Festival 2019 (Redondo Beach, USA): Gold Camera (Category: Documentary: Nature, Wildlife), Silver Screen (Category: Documentary: Craft/Production Techniques: Cinematography), Best of Festival Nominee (Category: Documentary)
*** Nominations ***
Blue Water Film Festival 2022 (Santa Monica, USA): Official Selection
Gran Paradiso Film Festival 2020 (Cogne, Italy): Official Selection (Category: Stambecco d'Oro Trophy)
Wild Oceans FilmFest 2020 (Gijón, Spain): Finalist (Category: Animal Behavior or Ecosystem Description)
AFO - Academia Film Olomouc 2020 (Olomouc, Czech Republic): Selected (Category: International Competition)
SBIFF - Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2020 (Santa Barbara, USA): Official Selection
Naturfilmfestival Hofheim 2020 (Hofheim, Germany): Official Selection
FIFA - Festival International du Film Animalier 2020 ( Albert, France): Official Selection
IFF - Ekotopfilm - Envirofilm Festival 2020 (Bratislava, Slovakia): Official Selection
Mountainfilm International Filmfestival Graz 2019 (Graz, Austria): Official Selection
FINN - Festival International Nature Namur 2019 (Namur, Belgium): Official Selection
Pariscience International Science Film Festival 2019 (Paris, France): Finalist
Sondrio Festival 2019 (Sondrio, Italy): Nomination (Category: First Prize "Town of Sondrio" and "Stelvio National Park")
International Nature Film Festival Gödöllö 2019 (Gödöllö, Hungary): Nomination (Category: Nature Films)
Scinema - International Science Film Festival 2019 (Australia): Official Selection
NaturVision Film Festival 2019 (Ludwigsburg, Germany): Official Selection
Jackson Hole Wild: Living Oceans Film Showcase 2019 (New York, USA): Finalist
