Impact campaign

Last of the Right Whales launches campaign

Post film Q&A

Last of the Right Whales world premiere happened recently at the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF). The feature documentary about critically endangered North Atlantic right whales (NARW) follows the whales along the eastern seaboard as they migrate from the calving grounds in Florida to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. With less than 400 remaining, these great whales rarely die of natural causes. Instead, they are run over by ships or suffer lethal injuries from fishing gear. If we don’t stop killing them, in 20 years they could be extinct.  With unprecedented access to film the whale migration, Last of the Right Whales brings a message of hope about the most at risk great whale on the planet. You can see the trailer here. 

Impact Campaign Begins

Along with the premiere of the film, the premiere marks the official start of the impact campaign. The campaign has been developed with our partners including IFAW, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Canadian Whale Institute, and Sierra Club Canada Federation. The campaign will support three main goals for the protection of NARW: reducing entanglements, preventing vessel strikes, and increasing public awareness.

When I first spoke with Nadine Pequeneza, Last of the Right Whales’ award-winning Producer/Director, about joining the team as an Impact Producer, I knew very little about NARW.  The more I researched, the more I realized how important a film like #LOTRW is. The film will help more and more people come to see the very real challenges that these whales are facing because of us.  Hopefully this film can help amplify how vital it is that we help these whales bounce back from the brink of extinction like they have twice before. 

If you’re in Calgary on Sunday Sept 26th, we hope to see you at the screening! If you live in Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba you can watch the film online until CIFF ends on Oct 3. Get your tickets for either opportunity here. More screenings will be announced soon so please follow the film @lastrightwhales on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok or @HitPlayProductions on Facebook for the latest announcements. You can also subscribe to our newsletter here.