My Pilot, Whale

My Pilot, Whale is a short documentary film directed by Alexander and Nicole Gratovsky, demonstrating direct communication between a human and free pilot whales in the open ocean.

My pilot, whale
Poster reading "My Pilot, Whale"
An official film poster
Directed byAlexander and Nicole Gratovsky
CinematographyUnderwater – Rafa Herrero Massieu
On land – Victoria Fortunina
Music byElephant's Hands
Production
company
Dolphin Embassy
Release date
2014
Running time
28 minutes
CountriesRussia
Spain
LanguagesRussian
French
English

The entire underwater part was shot without diving equipment; both the operator and the person appearing in the frame are freediving.[1]

The film’s premiere took place in Marseille as part of the World Festival of Underwater Images in November 2014[2] and then, during the year, the film won several prizes, and was repeatedly nominated and selected in the official programs of European and American film festivals.[3] In Russia the film was first shown on 30 March 2015 in the Angleterre cinema club in St. Petersburg.[4] Before the official premiere, several fragments of the film were shown on the inner arches of the Peter and Paul Cathedral on Maroseyka in Moscow during the audio-visual event "Night in the Cathedral" organised by the Dolphin Embassy.[5] The film first aired on Russian television on 20 January 2016 during the Observer program on the Culture channel.[1] After participating in international film festivals, the full version of the film was posted on the Internet for free viewing.[6]

Title

The film’s title plays on the most commonly used international name for Globicephalas, pilot whales, and indicates, in accordance with the opinion of the film’s authors,[1] the leading, meaning forming and teaching role played by dolphins in interactions with humans. This is additionally emphasized by the film’s narration.

Plot

From the very first frames, the viewer is plunged into the atmosphere of an expedition, seeing everything that occurs through the eyes of one of the participants in the events. Frames shot on the shore are followed by footage from the side of a ship that has set off into the open ocean, after which the camera looks at the world from under water, watching how, from afar, come dolphins, appearing as if out of nowhere. Then we see a person in the water, who swims calmly and gracefully towards the dolphins. Contact takes place tactfully and tenderly: there is no touching, only an exchange of glances, mutual interest and a sensitive focus of each on the other. Much of the film consists of precisely such rare shots of interaction between a human and free pilot whales in their natural environment, the open ocean. The camera remains very close to the dolphins almost the entire time, as a result of which a sensation of presence, unhurriedness, gracefulness, relaxed concentration and smoothness is conveyed to the viewer. This is also emphasized through the long plans and style of editing employed. The film’s visual beauty is complemented by original music, a duet by a cello and bass guitar, that follows the movements of the human and dolphins, emotionally emphasizing what is occurring on the screen. The authors themselves speak of their film as follows:

The film is an immersion into the world of creatures that have inhabited our planet fifty times longer than humanity. The film is an experience of a direct dialogue with them and with the Universe. The film is an opportunity for a different way of seeing life, consciousness and ourselves.

Directors, Alexander and Nicole Gratovsky[4]

The film’s meaningful content is expressed through the narration, which conveys to the viewer the thoughts of a member of the expedition who interacts with dolphins in the ocean. The viewer is asked a lot of questions: “Why do whales and dolphins not seek contact with us? What happens to the ocean as a result of them living in it? As a result of the fact that they are the only ones on the planet that never sleep? What do they do to the world through their lives, woven from attention and love? Why do they not respond in kind when we cause them pain? Where does the contact zone lie? What would our civilization be like today if it were guided by different principles, such as that feelings are more important and more perfect than the mind? Does each of us have a direct and immediate opportunity to communicate with the Universe?”[6]

At the end of the film, prior to the credits, an inscription appears on the screen that is not voiced by the narrator: “Every year in the Faroe Islands, on the day of the traditional annual hunt, nearly a thousand pilot whales are killed.” In this way, the film is simultaneously a manifesto on the protection of cetaceans, urging people to think again and stop the destruction of some of the most aware[7][8] creatures on the planet.

Awards

2016

2015

  • Nominee in the categories of “Best Director of a Documentary”,[10] “Best Cinematography” and “Best Editing”[11] at the Milan International Filmmaker Festival of World Cinema, Italy, November 2015
  • Winner in the nomination “Merit Award of Awareness” at the Awareness Film Festival, Los Angeles, California , September 2015[12]
  • Winner in the nomination “Best Cinematography in a Documentary”,[13] as well as nominee in the categories of “Best Producer of a Documentary”,[14] “Best Scientific/Educational Documentary”[15] and “Best Director of a Short Documentary”[16] at the Madrid international Film Festival, Spain, July 2015
  • Winner in the nomination “Best Director of a Feature Documentary”,[17] as well as nominee in the categories of “Best Feature Documentary”,[18] “Best Cinematography in a Documentary”,[19] as well as nominee for the special “Jury Award”[20] at the International Film Festival in Tenerife, Spain, July 2015

2014

  • “Best Image Award” at the International Festival of Underwater and Adventure Films in Antibes, France, December 2014[21]
  • Official selection of the World Festival of Underwater Images in Marseille, France, November 2014[2]

References
  1. "Recording of the live broadcast of the Observer television program with the participation of the film's authors, Alexander and Nicole Gratovsky, on the Culture channel" (in Russian). 2016-01-20. Archived from the original on 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  2. Official selection of the World Festival of Underwater Images in Marseille"Programme 2014 - Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous-Marine". Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  3. Oleg Matveev (2017-04-11). "About dolphins and humans — an interview with Directors Alexander and Nicole Gratovsky". MosLenta (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  4. "Announcement of the premiere of the film in Angleterre" (in Russian). 2015-03-30. Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  5. Andrey Maksimov (2014-03-17). "Plus or minus the mind — an article in the Federal newspaper about the Dolphin Embassy's event "Night in the Cathedral"". Rossiyskaya Gazeta (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  6. Full version of the film on YouTube
  7. Marten, K.; Psarakos, S. (1995). "Evidence of self-awareness in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)". In Parker, S.T.; Mitchell, R.; Boccia, M. (eds.). Self-awareness in Animals and Humans: Developmental Perspectives. Cambridge University Press. pp. 361–379. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008.
  8. Reiss, D.; Marino, L. (2001). "Mirror self-recognition in the bottlenose dolphin: A case of cognitive convergence". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 98 (10): 5937–5942. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.5937R. doi:10.1073/pnas.101086398. PMC 33317. PMID 11331768.
  9. "Platinum Remi award in the "Oceanography" category" (PDF). 49th International Houston Film Festival. 2016-05-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  10. Nominee for “Best Director of a Documentary” at the International Festival of Cinematographers in Milan "Best Director of a Short Documentary | Milan IFF 2015 - Film Fest International". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  11. Nominee for “Best Editing” at the International Festival of Cinematographers in Milan"Best Editing of a Documentary | Milan IFF 2015 - Film Fest International". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  12. "Winner in the nomination "Merit Award of Awareness"". Awareness Film Festival, Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  13. Madrid International Film Festival. "Winner in the nomination "Best Cinematography in a Documentary"". Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  14. Madrid International Film Festival. "Nomination "Best Producer of a Documentary"". Archived from the original on 2015-04-14. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  15. Madrid International Film Festival. "Nomination "Best Scientific/Educational Documentary"". Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  16. Madrid International Film Festival. "Nomination "Best Director of a Short Documentary"". Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  17. Winner in the nomination “Best Director of a Feature Documentary” at the International Film Festival in Tenerife."Best Director of a Feature Documentary 2015 ‹ Tenerife IFF". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  18. Nominee for “Best Feature Documentary” at the International Film Festival in Tenerife"Best Feature Documentary 2015 ‹ Tenerife IFF". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  19. Nominee for “Best Cinematography in a Documentary” at the International Film Festival in Tenerife"Best Cinematography in a Documentary 2015 ‹ Tenerife IFF". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  20. Nominee for the “Jury Award” at the International Film Festival in Tenerife"Jury Award 2015 ‹ Tenerife IFF". Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  21. “Best Image Award” of the International Festival of Underwater and Adventure Cinema in Antibes"Palmarès Concours Films 2014". Archived from the original on 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
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