Last of the Right Whales is a powerful documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker, Nadine Pequeneza, and features a remarkable group of marine biologists, whale rescuers, crab fishers and wildlife photographers. The film has already been awarded the “Best Canadian Feature” at the 2021’s Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival and opened in Canadian theatres across the country on February 20. Check the screening dates here.

 

These gentle giants no longer die of natural causes. Instead, they are run over by ships or suffer lethal injuries from fishing gear. Over the past decade they’ve been dying at a rate of 24 per year. This staggering death toll is fueling a movement to save a great whale facing extinction. Last of the Right Whales is the story of a disparate group of people - a wildlife photographer, a marine biologist, a whale rescuer, and a crab fisher - united in their cause to save the North Atlantic right whale. By joining forces these formidable allies are determined to stop the world’s first great whale extinction. The film combines the 4K cinematography of a blue-chip nature film with the character-driven, vérité storytelling of a high-stakes drama. With unprecedented access to film the migration of the North Atlantic right whale from their calving ground off the coast of Florida to their new feeding area in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, this feature documentary brings a message of hope about the most at-risk, great whale on the planet.

 

In this interview, we talk with the director of Last of the Right Whales, Nadine Pequeneza.

 

 

I’m from the Toronto area, born and raised.  I came to documentary filmmaking through broadcast journalism.  As a television producer I found the 24-hour news cycle didn’t allow me to delve into stories in the way that I wanted, and so I looked for a longer, more creative storytelling form that would allow me to experiment with different ways of engaging audiences in compelling and important stories.

 

 

It was the multiple deaths, 17 in a few short months, that grabbed my attention in 2017. At the time I had never heard of a North Atlantic right whale. When I learned it was us that was unintentionally killing them, I knew I had to tell their story. Living in cities as the majority of Canadians do, it’s not surprising that we are disconnected from nature. But people only need to see what is happening to the North Atlantic right whale to feel a sense of responsibility for their plight.

 

 

Fishing gear entanglement is the leading cause of right whale injury and mortality, 85 percent of the population has been entangled at least once.  The second leading cause of right whale deaths is vessel strikes. Depending on the size of both the vessel and the whale; everything from a recreational fishing boat to a large container ship can be deadly.  To protect this species captains simply have to slow down, under 10 knots and keep a lookout for whales.  As consumers we can accept that the goods we order may take a little longer to ship or better yet we’ll buy more locally.  The film follows a whale named Snow Cone and her calf over the course of nearly two years.  The story of what happened to them reveals everything about why right whales are facing extinction and how we can save them.

 

 

Wildlife films are always challenging to make.  The footage is even more difficult to capture when the animal is critically endangered and inhabits the coastal North Atlantic from Florida to the Gulf of St Lawrence – ‘needle in a haystack’ was said more than once during production. With less than 350 remaining, right whales are rightfully protected.  In order to approach the whales we required hard to obtain federal permits. We had to rely on aerial cinematography because diving with them is prohibited, which meant waiting for behaviours that happen on the surface of the ocean – mom’s nursing, skim feeding, social groups. All these stars had to align in order for us to capture the incredible images featured in Last of the Right Whales.

 

 

The commitment and determination of the people featured in the film is inspiring. The collaboration between the film’s impact partners who have joined forces to protect the North Atlantic right whale is powerful – IFAW, Sierra Club, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Canadian Whale Institute and Oceans North. People’s reaction to the film and their desire to get involved in the movement to save this great whale from extinction is palpable.  I am hopeful that our species can do the right thing for these whales, for ourselves and the planet.