Experiencing Interruptions?

On The Trail Of The Humpback Whale

Marine biologists and volunteers go in search for humpback whales in the sub-arctic seas around Iceland

  • Tony Whelan
    Director
    The Humpback Whales of Cape Verde
  • Tony Whelan
    Producer
    The Humpback Whales of Cape Verde
  • Eoin McDonagh
    Editor
    In Sunshine Or In Shadow, Keepers Of The Flame, What Time is Death, Natan
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    58 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Ireland
  • Country of Filming:
    Iceland
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Super35mm
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Tony Whelan

I fell into the film and the TV industry in 1994 having worked in a variety of sectors including computing in England, construction in Australia, print journalism in Ireland.

My break came through sports broadcasting when I was lucky to be trained as a single camera director at the BBC.

This led to roles as director of programmes and operations, programmes editor and commissioning editor and the chance to work with great people on a slate of documentaries and films. From commissioning I moved to making.

Most recently I was a producer on ‘Rough Rider – The Paul Kimmage Story’ followed by director of ‘On The Trail of the Humpback Whale’ (2020) . I have just filmed and directed 'The Humpback Whales of Cape Verde' which is in post production.

Like many of the stories I am interested in, all have discovery at heart.

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Director Statement

‘Perhaps the greatest legacy we can leave from our work is not to instil ambition in others, though this may be the first way we describe its arrival in our life, but the passing on of a sense of sheer privilege, of having found a road, a way to follow, and then having been allowed to walk it, often with others, with all its difficulties and minor triumphs; the underlying primary gift of having been both a witness to and a full participant in the conversation’ David Whyte, Consolations

‘On The Trail Of The Humpback Whale’ is a story about ordinary people doing what I thought was a remarkable thing . Two years in the making this film allowed me to be both ‘a witness to and a full participant in the conversation’ . My hope is it might encourage one young girl or boy onto a similar journey (maybe some adults too) .