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Call of the Ancient Mariner

Mariner tells the story of an iconic creature, the sea turtle, that has been the centerpiece for thousands of cultures, serving as the heart of creation, as a deity, as a trickster and much more. Mariner launches an expedition exploring man's connection to nature and the ocean and man's long-time fascination with sea turtles. The film explores the intriguing world of turtles and man through thousands of years and how our futures are intertwined.

  • David Weintraub
    Director
    Where Neon Goes to Die, Golden Side of the Tracks, Code Blue: Water in the Mountains
  • David Weintraub
    Producer
    see above
  • Wallace J. Nichols
    Key Cast
  • David Owens
    Key Cast
  • jack Frazier
    Key Cast
  • Blair Witherington
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Nature, environmental, culture, conservation
  • Runtime:
    56 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    55,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Ghana, Mexico, Panama, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Charleston Film Festival
    Charleston, SC
    March 14, 2015
    world premiere
    Best of the Festival
  • Tryon International Film Festival
    Tryon, NC
    October 10, 2015
Director Biography - David Weintraub

As a writer, filmmaker, environmentalist and oral historian, I have spent several decades expanding on my twin passions: natural heritage protection and cultural preservation. The fruits of this work have included award-winning documentary films, over a dozen published books, as well as producing dozens of concerts, festivals, symposiums and more. Call of the Ancient Mariner continues to support my twin passions by exploring the untold story of man and sea turtles.

I have produced nearly a dozen documentaries, two of which have been on PBS and others have been at film festivals around the world. I have published 13 books and write a monthly column for my local newspapers. My main project at the moment is the Mountain Elder Wisdom project that seeks to do filmed oral histories of Cherokee, African-American and Scots-Irish Elders throughout the Southern Appalachians that will not only be a documentary film, but an education project in the schools to insure that this valuable cultural legacy does not die with the current generation.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Call of the Ancient Mariner was inspired by my own experiences coming across a nest of baby sea turtles off the coast of Charleston. Not only was I taken my the turtles but by the adulation of the people who gathered to watch these iconic creatures rush to the sea.

As I researched the man-turtle connection I was amazed at how pervasive turtles have been in human culture since the dawn of our species. And I thought, what a wonderful canvas turtles can be to tell a conservation story, not about guilt and pain, but about the joy of reaffirming our ten thousand year love affair with turtles.