Film impact campaign

Campus Tour Impact Panels

Last of the Right Whales continues to connect with key audiences – this time with students and alumni as part of the Campus Tour happening in both Canada and the US. On that tour, Sholeh Alemi Fabbri, who is leading the impact work for the film, was asked to join two post-screening panels at the University of Guelph virtually (below) and the University of Toronto in person (pictured above with Associate Professor Cristophe Richter and UTM Alumna WWF Canada’s Farheen Kadwa).

At both campuses the audiences were inquisitive and thoughtful when they engaged with the panel. Largely aimed at biology students, the questions ranged from scientific questions about the whales to ocean noise and ropeless gear. There was also interest in the actual film making and the use of drones (for both filmmakers and scientists). In both cases, having drone footage is important, especially in a film like this one where there are limits to how close you can get to the whales once you find them. When there are only 330 left and their home is the Atlantic Ocean, that can be tricky! 

For many of those in attendance the film was the first time they were able to see a North Atlantic right whale. Being able to see the whales navigate the real life challenges facing them has a stronger impact than simply reading about entanglements and vessel strikes. Watching a whale struggling to break free of a fresh entanglement is hard to watch but also important. The hope is that this film will also lead to real change in our behaviours so that these critically endangered whales don’t go extinct in 20 years. Based on the interactions with the students, they are ready to roll up their sleeves and make sure that doesn’t happen.